Lorraine Platt is the Co-Founder of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation
With the general election underway, each party’s manifesto will mark a pivotal milestone in their campaigns. These manifestos are critical. They represent an open and documented pledge, a commitment to the electorate outlining policies and visions for the future. Manifestos define a political party’s identity and priorities, making them of utmost importance during a general election.
The Conservative manifesto must contain pledges on issues that the voting public cares about. We like to call ourselves a nation of animal lovers, and we know that animal welfare is a significant concern for voters, with our recent polling showing that 64 per cent of those asked would feel more positively about a political party if they included a strong commitment to animal protection.
A further recent poll conducted by the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation asked: ‘In general, how important is it that parties keep their manifesto promises?’ Three-quarters of respondents (74 per cent) said it was the most, or one of the most, important issues for them.
Indeed, the previous Conservative manifesto, which garnered the party its largest share of the vote for forty years, pledged to implement robust new laws to protect animal welfare. True to their word, the Tories have achieved significant victories for animals. Among these achievements, the recent enactment of the historical Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act stands out, banning exports of live cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and horses for slaughter and fattening abroad. Additionally, the newly implemented Pet Abduction Act 2024 addresses the growing issue of pet theft.
Other notable Conservative achievements for animals since 2019 include; the Animal Welfare (Sentience Act) including crustaceans and cephalopods, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing Act), the Glue Traps (Offences) Act, the Animals (Penalty Notices) Act, The Ivory Act, the Animal Welfare (Service Animals Act), the Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2019, a ban on keeping primates as pets, a ban on third-party puppy and kitten sales, a ban on wild animals travelling in circuses, a ban on microbeads to protect marine life, mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses, mandatory microchipping of cats, the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act, and the Shark Fins Act.
While many of these animal welfare manifesto achievements can be rightly applauded, other historic pledges are still yet to be fulfilled. For instance, the 2010 manifesto committed to ‘introduce honesty in food labelling, if necessary through legislation, so consumers can be confident about where their food comes from.’ Mandatory animal welfare labelling provides consumers with informed choices. However, fourteen years later, this pledge remains unfulfilled.
With this election underway, it is crucial the Conservatives not only continue to build on the positive momentum gained thus far in its upcoming manifesto, but also honour past promises which are even more relevant today. Delivering on these outstanding pledges is essential to maintain voter trust.
At the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, we work to ensure that animals are well protected under law and that laws are strong and fit for purpose. That’s why we produce a detailed Manifesto for Animals before every general election, which we present to key governmental stakeholders and decision-makers.
Our 2024 Manifesto for Animals outlines the following primary asks: critical for advancing animal welfare.
- Commit to a fixed and fair phase-out period of using farrowing crates for sows and gilts in the UK with ongoing transitional support for farmers during the phase-out period.
- Commit to a fixed and fair phase-out period for enriched cages for laying hens in the UK with ongoing transitional support for farmers during the phase-out period.
- Introduce mandatory animal welfare labelling on all meat products for human consumption.
- Legislate to ensure that farmed fish have the equivalent legal protection to that of terrestrial farmed animals, including at the time of slaughter.
Additionally, our Manifesto includes asks to ban the commercial importation of foie gras, ban fur imports, and trophy hunting imports, prohibit the remote sale and shipping of live animals for food to non-commercial customers, ban the importation of cats or dogs that have been mutilated in ways that are illegal in the UK (such as tail docking, ear cropping or de-clawing), ban the use of snares and introduce a close season for brown hares in England and Wales to align with existing legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It’s important to enshrine core standards for animal welfare in all future trade agreements, to safeguard the UK’s existing animal welfare standards and protect British farmers.
At the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, we are deeply committed to our manifesto proposals. Our extensive experience, coupled with our network of professional experts, informs and shapes our policy recommendations. We know that animals matter to voters, and we urge the Conservative party to demonstrate that they are listening to the electorate by including our proposals in their manifesto.
