Animals

Animals to be recognised as sentient beings in law as most live exports halted


A range of new animal rights bills are set to be introduced by the UK government (Picture: Getty)

New legislation will recognise animals as sentient beings with the capacity to have feelings such as pleasure, pain and fear.

A series of new bills have been proposed in the UK to strengthen the country’s animal welfare laws.

The sentience bill will enshrine in law that animals are aware of what is happening to them. It will apply to vertebrates, but not to cephalopods such as octopus and squid.

Alongside two other bills – the Animal Welfare Bill and the Animals Abroad Bill – the Government is setting out an action plan to help domesticated and wild creatures in the UK and overseas.

Other new laws being considered include a ban on the export of live animals for slaughter and the keeping of primates as pets.

Compulsory microchipping for cats will also be introduced and remote-controlled training collars for dogs will be outlawed.

Legislation to restrict the use of glue traps, designed to capture wild birds, will be supported.

Many of the new laws are needed after Brexit and some go further than previous EU legislation.

The keeping of primates as pets is going to be banned in the UK (Picture: SWNS)
There will also be new laws to crack down on illegal hare coursing (Picture: Getty Images)

Launching the plan, Environment Secretary George Eustice 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.

‘We will lead on the protection of animals abroad by implementing the world’s toughest ivory ban and banning the import of hunting trophies to protect iconic species.’

The plan is a mixture of new measures, confirmation of manifesto commitments and moves that have been consulted on and will now be introduced, or ones that have been previously attempted.

Animals are going to be recognised as sentient beings by law (Picture: Reuters)
Microchipping of cats is going to be made compulsory (Picture: Getty Images)

The Government’s action plan for animal welfare also includes stopping ads in the UK for things such as elephant rides abroad and exploring a ban on foie gras.

Campaigners have broadly welcomed the proposals but say they are waiting to see more detail.

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, said: ‘Britain prides itself as a nation of animal lovers and animals suffering both here and overseas for food, fur, entertainment, the pet trade and more deserve this proactive agenda.

‘Delivering on the plan will require understanding and real commitment from across Whitehall.

‘Respect for animal welfare is not only the right thing to do for animals, it will also play a critical role in tackling global environmental and public health challenges such as climate change, antibiotic resistance and pandemic prevention.’

The new laws include plans to ban the import and export of shark fins in the UK, marking a victory for marine conservation campaigners after a long campaign.

The Government is going to look into banning foie gras (Picture: Getty Images)

New measures are being brought in to close a loophole that had allowed travellers to carry up to 20kg of dried shark fins – used in the Chinese delicacy shark fin soup – into and out of the country.

Campaigners say the new law will help stamp out the practice of shark fin fishing, which involves fishermen cutting off the fins of sharks they catch and throwing the rest of the animal overboard to die.

Up to 73 million sharks are hunted every year globally and one in four shark species are endangered or threatened.

Wildlife TV presenter Steve Backshall MBE and chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall had both campaigned for a shark fin ban as part of Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation’s No Fin To Declare campaign.

The UK is in the top 20 shark fishing nations in the world alongside Spain, France and Portugal. For years, the UK has exported around 25 tonnes of shark fins to Spain for processing and onward sale to the Far East.

Shark fin fishing is driving some species to the bring of extinction (Picture: iStockphoto)

The practice has pushed iconic shark species including great whites, hammerheads, oceanic whitetips and threshers to the brink of extinction, with only a tiny fraction left in the wild.

The new legislation will require all imported and exported shark fins to remain attached to the shark carcass and only traded as a whole commodity.

Mr Backshall, a patron of Bite-Back said: ‘Today’s news is a fantastic outcome for shark conservation and the culmination of years of campaigning from Bite-Back.

‘The government’s decision to effectively ban the trade in shark fins will be significant in helping to restore the balance of the oceans.

‘At the same time it sends a clear message to the world that shark fin soup belongs in the history books and not on the menu.’

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