Labour Animal Welfare Society (LAWS) welcomes today’s publication of Defra’s new Animal Welfare Strategy, which the government says will deliver the most ambitious animal welfare reforms in a generation, improving protections for pets, farmed animals and wildlife.
The strategy sets a clear direction of travel away from outdated and harmful practices, and it reflects strong public expectations for real change for animals.
Key commitments in the Strategy include:
Companion animals (pets)
• Reforming dog breeding to improve health and welfare and help end puppy farming.
• Consulting on a ban on electric shock collars for cats and dogs.
• Considering new licensing for domestic rescue and rehoming organisations.
Farmed animals
• Moving away from confinement systems including colony cages for laying hens and pig farrowing crates, with reforms expected to be taken forward via consultation.
• Tackling welfare concerns linked to carbon dioxide stunning of pigs.
• Introducing humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish.
• Promoting slow-growing meat chicken breeds.
Wild animals
• Committing to ban trail hunting, over concerns it can be used as a cover for illegal hunting.
• Committing to ban snare traps.
• Proposing a close season for hares to reduce shooting during the breeding season.
Defra says it will work to deliver the strategy by the end of 2030.
Baroness Hayman: long-overdue reforms and a new Working Group on fur
In an article for LabourList today, Baroness Sue Hayman of Ullock, Defra minister for biosecurity, borders and animals, described the strategy as a world-leading plan with long-overdue reforms.
Baroness Hayman also outlined the moral case for action, drawing on more than 30 years of campaigning and arguing that the country has a duty to protect defenseless animals, just as it protects vulnerable people. She said the reforms “feel seismic” and that Labour can be proud the policies announced today will protect animals for generations to come.
In addition, she highlighted plans to review and strengthen penalties for cruelty against wildlife. She confirmed the government will establish a Working Group on fur to explore concerns about the global fur trade and possible policy responses.
LAWS priorities now being taken forward
LAWS welcomes that several commitments in Labour’s new Animal Welfare Strategy closely reflect policies we set out in our 2023 document, A Better Life for Animals: A Proposed Animal Welfare Manifesto for animals and people. In particular, the Strategy takes forward:
• A ban on shock collars, with a consultation announced.
• A commitment to phase out cages and crates, including colony cages for hens and farrowing crates for pigs, to be progressed via consultation.
• Better welfare for meat chickens, including moving away from fast-growing breeds, with the strategy committing to promote slow-growing breeds.
• Legal minimum welfare and slaughter requirements for farmed aquatic animals, with the strategy committing to humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish.
• Action to end trail hunting and prohibit snares, both included in the strategy.
LAWS is proud to support this Labour government as it gets on with the job of strengthening animal welfare after years of drift and delay under the Tories. These reforms show what Labour looks like in power: making a historic difference for animals. We will keep working with ministers and Labour MPs to help deliver the strategy in full, because animals cannot afford a return to the broken promises and inaction we saw from the Conservatives.
