Following years of tireless work by UK animal activists, animals will soon be formally recognized as sentient beings under UK law. This announcement will accompany a broad new set of government measures protecting animal welfare.
The word sentient means able to perceive or feel things. Acknowledging that animals are sentient beings has vast ramifications for animal rights. This announcement will be accompanied with a broad set of government measures protecting animal welfare.
Fiona Harvey writes in The Guardian, “The government set out a suite of animal welfare measures including halting most live animal exports and banning the import of hunting trophies." The new laws will "cover farm animals and pets in the UK, and include protections for animals abroad, through bans on ivory and shark fins."
George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, said: “We are a nation of animal lovers and were the first country in the world to pass animal welfare laws. Our action plan for animal welfare will deliver on our manifesto commitment to ban the export of live animal exports for slaughter and fattening, prohibit keeping primates as pets, and bring in new laws to tackle puppy smuggling. As an independent nation, we are now able to go further than ever to build on our excellent track record.”
Find out about the other new animal protection laws going into effect in the UK here.
You can check out the entire action plan here.
Meanwhile, across the channel, the French Senate is discussing animal welfare-friendly farming. Magdalena Pistorius reports, “The bill proposed by the Greens plans to make it compulsory, as of 2025, to ‘progressively’ set up outdoor access systems for farm animals as well as maximum density thresholds... Another measure aimed at ‘putting an end to practices that cause animal suffering’ is a ban, from 2022, on (the killing) of live male chicks and female ducklings.”
Read about the French Senate debate here.