Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, , has today published his
ambitious 10-point plan to improve animal welfare through a
series of impactful reforms.
The Animal Welfare Pathway—Advancing Animal Welfare in
Northern Ireland 2025-27 is a radical plan which focusses on
strengthening animal welfare of companion and farmed animals
through enhanced legislation and new initiatives.
Making the announcement on a visit to the Dogs Trust in
Ballymena, the Minister said: “Caring for our animals
should be a priority for all of us, whether they are our beloved
pets or in a farm setting. The current legislation and practices
simply don't go far enough to protect animals from exploitation
or poor behaviour. I want to make sure that our legislation is
robust and that we have initiatives in place to ensure the
animals we are responsible for are cared for
appropriately.
“This means not only protecting them from bad practices
like third-party selling, aversive training and lack of
microchipping, but also ensuring that when people do treat
animals poorly, our enforcement partners have robust powers and
effective penalties. The Animal Welfare Pathway sets out a range
of practical interventions we will take to strengthen animal
welfare within the constrained assembly mandate until
2027.”
There are 10 key reforms proposed in the document:
- legislative reform to prohibit third-party pet sales;
- an expert-led review of current dog breeding laws, to include
assessing the need for regulation of canine fertility services;
- examining the case for mandatory microchipping of cats;
- strengthening microchipping requirements for dogs;
- an awareness raising campaign, to promote animal welfare
requirements and highlight the need for responsible dog
ownership;
- consideration of licensing of day-care and home-boarding for
dogs and cats;
- a review of dog licence fees;
- examining the evidence for prohibition on aversive training
devices;
- regulation of rescue and rehoming organisations; and
- the mandatory requirements for CCTV use in all areas of
slaughterhouses where animals are kept.
This builds upon a range of initiatives already underway such as
the Paws for Thought campaign with a range of other measures also
being separately progressed in terms of farmed animals such as
implementation of blueprint to eradicate bTB recently agreed by
the TB Partnership Steering Group and roll out of new Bovine
Viral Diarrhoea legislation.
The Minister continued: “Since coming into office, I have
been determined to move forward quickly on animal welfare issues
and many actions are already in progress. A recruitment
competition is underway to appoint an expert advisory group to
review the regulation of dog breeding in Northern Ireland and a
public consultation on making the use of CCTV in slaughterhouses
mandatory has just closed.
“Additionally, a public consultation on the proposed new
rules on the prohibition of third-party pet sales will be
launching in the coming weeks.”
Adam Clowes, Dogs Trust Chief of Staff said: “At the start of his
tenure, Minister Muir outlined his commitment to improving animal
welfare in Northern Ireland. We are therefore pleased to see
today's publication of the Animal Welfare Pathways, reaffirming
that commitment and setting out robust measures for improving the
lives of our companion animals and their owners.
“The proposals within the Pathways reflect many of the priorities
Dogs Trust, and other rehoming organisations, have consistently
advocated for, including a ban on third-party puppy sales, a
review of existing dog breeding legislation, and the regulation
for rescue and rehoming organisations.
“We stand ready to work collaboratively with the Minister and the
Department to help shape and deliver this programme of
much-needed, timely, and comprehensive legislative reform that
will make a lasting difference for dogs across Northern Ireland.”
The Pathway has been developed following extensive engagement and
feedback with key stakeholders in animal welfare, including the
Northern Ireland Companion Animal Welfare Group, local councils,
the Police Service of Northern Ireland, veterinary associations,
and agricultural bodies.
More information can be found at: https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/publications/animal-welfare-pathway-advancing-animal-welfare-northern-ireland-2025-27
