A new Bill promising to acknowledge animals as sentient beings
has been introduced by the Government- but is its scope limited,
and will the proposed new Animal Sentience Committee have
sufficient powers?
Today the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Select Committee launches an inquiry into the Animal Welfare
(Sentience) Bill. Announced earlier this month, Defra’s new
animal welfare action
plan aims to strengthen animal protection. After Brexit, EU laws
recognising animals as sentient beings - i.e. having thoughts and
feelings - were not retained in UK law. The Animal Welfare (Sentience)
Bill seeks to enshrine recognition of vertebrate animals as
sentient and establish an Animal Sentience Committee (ASC) that
may report on any Government policy with possible adverse effects
on sentient animals.
The EFRA Committee will scrutinise the independence and powers of
the proposed Animal Sentience Committee, and investigate the
application of the provisions only to vertebrates.
The Committee is seeking written evidence on the following
questions, with an initial deadline of XX:
- Will the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill ensure that animal
sentience is properly taken into account in both new and existing
Government policy in England?
- Are there sufficient safeguards to ensure that the proposed
Animal Sentience Committee will be (a) independent (b) have the
necessary expertise and (c) have the necessary powers to be
effective?
- Are the proposed requirements on the Government to respond to
an Animal Sentience Committee’s report sufficient?
- How does the proposed Animal Sentience Committee compare to
similar bodies, such as the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission?
- Is the Government correct to limit the scope of the Bill to
vertebrate animals?
Chair of the EFRA Committee, , said:
“The UK is a nation of animal lovers. The Committee welcomes the
Government's commitment to uphold the recognition of animals as
beings with feelings. We are now looking to ensure that the new
Animal Sentience Committee- which will be responsible for keeping
the Government in check- has the power and bite it will need."
