In his article this week Crawley MP Henry Smith shows his support for Animal Welfare.
‘I am often contacted by Crawley residents who want to see our nation provide greater animal welfare protections, particularly given the opportunities in this regard upon exiting the European Union’s single market.
As a Vice Chair of the
All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare and a Patron of the
Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, I wholeheartedly agree.
One key area of
opportunity is to stop needless suffering of live animals which are being
exported for slaughter.
Along with
parliamentary colleagues I have campaigned on this issue for some years, with
successive UK governments not able to tackle the issue due to the constraints
of EU membership.
With the end of the
Brexit transition on the horizon, it is right that this Government is looking
to the future. The Environment Secretary has launched a consultation aiming to
ban live animal exports.
In addition to
reducing the risk of potentially severe harms faced by animals being
transported due to injury and maltreatment, this would also mean that these
animals will no longer have to rely on the welfare laws of other countries,
which may fall short of the standards expected in the UK.
Ministers are also
consulting on proposals to ensure improvements to animal welfare in transport
such as reduced maximum journey times, more space for animals and tighter rules
on transporting animals in extreme temperatures.
The Government consultation ‘Improvements to animal welfare in transport’ is open until 28th January 2021. Please click here for more information and to make a submission.’
Henry Smith MP
Crawley Constituency