Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill

In June 2021, as part of the UK government's 'Action Plan for Animal Welfare', the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was announced. The first reading in the House of Commons and after reaching the Committee stage, it was later put aside. In 2022, the Bill was reread, yet the government failed to act to push it any further through Parliament. In May 2023, it was made known that the entire Bill, which covered animal welfare issues, including live animal exports, captive primates and zoo licences, was being scrapped.

Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill

Following this colossal betrayal to animals and the decades of campaigning by animal advocates, the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill was introduced in December 2023. The Bill solely focuses on the live exports of animals and will implement a ban on the live export of large animals for fattening and slaughter. This will eradicate all live exports of sheep, cows and calves, pigs and horses who are sent abroad to be reared and killed.

Speciesist legislation

Animal Justice Project has previously campaigned for the original Kept Animals Bill to be broadened to encompass all animals and for all purposes, as the Bill has significant flaws and millions of animals will not be protected. As it stands, the Livestock Exports Bill has the same holes. Any large animals, including cows, pigs and sheep, will still be allowed to be live exported across the world if their 'purpose' is for breeding. Currently, breeding pigs are flown to countries like China, and millions of day-old chicks, ducklings and turkeys are shipped across the globe as far as Southeast Asia. None of these animals will see any form of protection under the proposed Bill, and we must urge the government to protect ALL animals for ALL purposes. You can sign our petition here.

Recent live animal exports

Since Brexit, live exports have largely ceased. Pre-Brexit, we know that 31,000 cows, sheep and goats were exported from the UK to EU countries in 2019. The National Farmer's Union (NFU) states that 95% of these animals were exported for breeding. That equates to 29,450 animals from that year who will receive NO protection under the current live export ban. The year before, 25 million chicks, turkeys and ducklings were exported as far as Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Malaysia and Bangladesh. With millions of young birds exported and tens of thousands of large animals, how is this a 'live exports ban' when almost all currently exported animals will not be protected?

The government is betraying millions of animals every year by not promising an inclusive ban on live exports. Our voices are powerful; together, we CAN make a difference for everyone. Sign our petition to demand that the Bill is made inclusive to all.

As always,

For the animals.