There has
been a lot of confusion on the recent vote on animal sentience, and in the last
few days I have been contacted by constituents who have expressed their
concerns that I and other Conservative MPs have voted that animals do not have
feelings. This is not true.
I am
committed to the very highest standards of animal welfare. Not a single MP from
any Party believes that animals do not have feelings, and it concerns me that
some have suggested that my vote means otherwise.
During a
debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill, an amendment was tabled that would have put a
recognition of animal sentience into UK law. While the government accepted the
principal of the amendment, it rejected the specific amendment on the basis
that they felt it was flawed. Instead Ministers have said they will deliver the
same result using a different route.
Ministers
explained during the debate that the Government’s policies on animal welfare
are driven by our recognition that animals are indeed sentient beings. We are
acting energetically to reduce the risk of harm to animals, whether on farms or
in the wild. The vote last week was simply the rejection of a faulty amendment,
which would not have achieved its stated aims of providing appropriate
protection for animals.
Article 13 of
the Lisbon Treaty, which this clause sought to transfer into UK law, has not
delivered the progress we want to see. Its legal effect is unclear and it has
failed to prevent cruel practices across the EU. The Government is presently
considering the right legislative vehicle by which to make the necessary legal
changes that will ensure animal sentience is recognised after we leave the EU.
We are improving animal welfare standards without EU input, with recent steps
including making CCTV mandatory in all slaughterhouses, consulting on draft
legislation to jail animal abusers for up to five years, and introducing
Europe’s most comprehensive ban on the ivory trade. Our ban on microbeads,
which harm marine animals, has been welcomed by Greenpeace as “the strongest in
the world”, and once we have left the EU, there is even more than we can do. EU
rules prevent us from restricting or banning the live export of animals for
slaughter and from cracking down on puppy smuggling. Leaving the EU gives us
the chance to do even more to stop these practices.
The
Government will continue to promote and enhance animal welfare, both now and
after we have left the EU. This ill-informed outcry should not overshadow an
extraordinary string of wins for animal welfare and the environment and the
Government’s pledge to do more in the future. We have far higher animal welfare
standards than any other country in Europe, and under this Government we will
continue to raise them higher still.
