Reverse the decision not to proceed with the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill

We wish for the Government to reverse its decision to scrap the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, and to dedicate Parliamentary time to its passage and enact it into law.

The Bill was introduced by the Government and was supported through its Second Reading and Committee Stage. This petition calls on the Government to reverse its decision not to proceed with this Bill, and to take it through Parliament to become law.

As outlined in our 2021 Action Plan for Animal Welfare, the Government has an ambitious agenda for animal welfare and conservation reforms, which we plan to take forward during the current Parliamentary session and beyond. We will continue to introduce and support legislative and non-legislative reforms where possible.

The UK has some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world. Since the publication of the Action Plan, we have delivered on key manifesto commitments: we have increased the penalties for those convicted of animal cruelty, passed the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 and launched the Animal Sentience Committee. We have made cat microchipping compulsory and have announced the extension of the Ivory Act (2018) to cover five endangered species: hippopotamus, narwhal, killer whale, sperm whale and walrus.

In addition, we have provided for penalty notices to apply to animal welfare offences, introduced new police powers to tackle hare coursing, and banned glue traps. We are also supporting Private Members’ Bills banning the trade in detached shark fins, the import of hunting trophies (which is a manifesto commitment) and the advertising here of low-welfare animal experiences abroad.

The Bills and regulations we have already passed demonstrate the progress which can be made with single-issue legislation. In light of this, we will be taking forward measures from the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill individually through other means during the remainder of this Parliament. We believe this to be the quickest and most effective way of achieving these aims.

We remain dedicated to delivering our three manifesto commitments that were in the Bill. These are: to end the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter, to crack down on the smuggling of puppies, and to ban the keeping of primates as pets. On 20 June 2023 we launched a consultation on primate keeping standards and will bring legislation forward later this year to deliver the ban.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs