The Government's Action Plan for Animal Welfare was launched last week, with the aim of strengthening animal welfare standards in this country and reinforcing the UK as a global champion of animal rights.
Meanwhile, the Animal Sentience Bill, which was introduced to Parliament last week, will formally recognise animals as sentient beings.
The Action Plan for Animal Welfare sets out how the government will protect and improve welfare for all animals, including-
Pets- by tackling puppy smuggling, cracking down on pet theft, banning remote controlled training e-collars and introducing compulsory microchipping for cats.
Wild animals- by funding wildlife conservation projects at home and abroad, cracking down on illegal hare coursing, making it illegal to keep primates as pets and restricting the use of glue traps.
Farmed animals- by ending the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter, introducing measures to improve welfare during transport, improving animal welfare at slaughter, examining the use of cages for poultry and farrowing crates for pigs and giving the police more powers to protect farm animals from dangerous or out of control dogs.
Animals abroad- by banning the import of hunting trophies from endangered animals and the sale of ivory, exploring a ban on the sale of foie gras, banning the advertisement of low-welfare animal practices abroad, such as elephant rides, and prohibiting the import and export of detached shark fins.
This Action Plan will ensure that the UK is leading the way on animal welfare, by introducing world-leading standards and measures to protect pets, livestock and wild animals.
