Animal Welfare & the Environment

Action we have taken

Since the General Election, Conservatives in Government have been actively working to improve animal welfare. We have taken action to:

• ban the plastic microbeads which do so much damage to marine wildlife

• make CCTV mandatory in abattoirs to ensure animals are not abused or mistreated at the end of their lives

• ban the trade in ivory which puts the lives of African elephants in danger

• legislate to increase the sentence for the worst acts of animal cruelty to five years imprisonment. That will ensure the sanctions for cruelty towards animals are as strong here as anywhere in the world

• nearly 150,000 rare seabirds – including the iconic little tern and black-throated diver – will be better protected as the UK’s ‘Blue Belt’ of marine protected areas extends by over 650 square miles, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey announced today

• plant more than 600,000 trees across Northumberland over the next two years, with England’s largest woodland planting scheme in decades given the go-ahead by the Forestry Commission today

• further restrict the use of neonicotinoids due to their effects on bees and other pollinators

• make practical and pragmatic changes to existing farm support systems, streamlining the process to free up farmers to focus on what they do best - produce great products and care for our beautiful environment

And, as we leave the EU, new opportunities arise to further improve animal welfare:

• we are reviewing the practice of exporting live animals for slaughter and will take action to restrict and, if possible, end this trade

• we will look to see how we can ensure food imports meet the highest welfare standards

• we will take action to deal with puppy farming and the cruel trade in pets reared in unacceptable conditions.

• we will also legislate to ensure that the principle that animals are sentient beings, capable of feeling pain and pleasure, is embedded more clearly than ever before in UK law as we leave the EU