News • Good Food Trade Campaign
Repeal Bill fails to guarantee recognition of animal sentience
Exiting the EU may leave farm animals exposed to inhumane treatment unless a key legal definition is transposed into UK law -- and it is currently missing from the Bill.
Under European law, animals are recognised as sentient beings, acknowledging their ability to feel pain, suffer and also experience joy. Securing this status for animals was a massive step forward for animal welfare in 1997. It was the biggest campaign that Sustain member Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) has ever run.
The recognition of animals as complex and intelligent creatures has been the cornerstone of European animal welfare legislation ever since. But the EU (Withdrawal) Bill (also known as the Repeal Bill), which moves all European law into UK law once we leave the EU, has left out this important protection. It is completely absent: both the recognition of animals as sentient beings, and the requirement for governments to pay 'full regard' to their welfare.
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Published Saturday 26 August 2017
Good Food Trade Campaign: Campaigning for good trade that benefits people and the planet at home and overseas.
