King's Speech should address animal welfare, RSPCA says
The King's Speech is due to be delivered in Parliament on 7 November.
The RSPCA has urged the Government to redress its dropped animal welfare pledges in the forthcoming King’s Speech.
The Speech, which is due to be delivered in Parliament on 7 November, is the Government’s ‘last chance’ to redeem its animal welfare record, the charity has said.
The RSPCA considers this an opportunity for the Government to reintroduce animal welfare legislation as a priority for the months ahead. Failing this, the charity is pushing for a ‘rescue package’ from MPs, which would propose the laws as backbench legislation for ballot later this month.
This appeal was made in response to the 14 animal welfare issues, many of which were manifesto pledges, which the charity says ministers have dropped, or abandoned.
The list mentions laws which were in the Kept Animals Bill, which was controversially dropped in May 2023. The Bill included a ban on import of dogs with cropped ears, puppy smuggling and the live export of farm animals.
Also among the ‘broken promises’ is a consultation on banning farm animals from being kept in cages, a ban on the use of shock collars and a call for evidence on snares.
The charity refers to pledges made in the 2019 Conservative manifesto, upon which the current Government was elected. Then prime minister Boris Johnson had said he would ‘promote the welfare of animals’ as it was ‘so close to the hearts of the British people’.
The RSPCA has said that these pledges remain important with the British public. The charity’s 2023 Animal Kindness Index highlighted that eight in ten people believe legislation is needed to protect animal welfare.
The polling found that 86 per cent of the public supported a ban on puppies aged under six months, 81 per cent supported making dog theft a specific offence and 76 per cent support a ban on the import of dogs with cropped ears.
The RSPCA’s latest appeal for animal welfare legislation comes as it prepares to hold its second annual Wilberforce Lecture, ahead of its 200th anniversary in 2024. The lecture will be led by David Halpern CBE, president and founding director of the Behavioural Insights Team, and explores how behavioural science can inform individuals and animal welfare policies.
Emma Slawinski, the RSPCA’s director of policy, said: “Next week, the UK Government can rectify its huge mistake of dropping so many animal welfare pledges.
“The King's Speech could be something of a last chance saloon for their flagging animal welfare agenda - and we urge ministers to rescue these pledges and prevent the suffering and misery of countless animals in the process.”
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