In May 2021, the Government proposed the Action Plan for Animal Welfare which set out to vastly improve animal welfare in the UK.  

The Government went on to introduce the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill in June 2021, which set out to improve welfare standards for kept animals in Great Britain. 

This would be ground-breaking Bill set out to ban the live export of farmed animals, a key Brexit promise, tackle puppy smuggling, banning primates as pets and improving the standards of zoos.  

Despite countless promises, the Bill stalled, and eventually in May 2023 it was dropped altogether. 

During this time, we have seen animal welfare be continuously deprioritised and be seemingly forgotten. Along with the Kept Animals Bill; the government-backed Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Private Members Bill also stalled in the House of Lords in September last year. We are also awaiting the published consultation responses from a government consultation on the sale and trade of fur in the UK, as well as a promised public consultation on the cage keeping of farmed animals. 

In this crucial period, with the various political parties due to be announcing their upcoming election manifestos, we need to remind politicians that #AnimalsMatter. As part of a long-term animal welfare strategy, we want to see the following reflected in all political party’s upcoming election manifestos: 

• An end to puppy and kitten smuggling
• An end to caged keeping of farm animals
• No more imports and sales of fur
• A ban on the import of hunting trophies
• Core animal welfare standards in trade
• Compulsory animal welfare labelling on food items
• National food and procurement policies that commit to “less and better” animal products