On Tuesday 11th May, the Queen’s Speech marked The State Opening of Parliament.

‍Several new animal welfare bills have been proposed for the upcoming political year, including The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill, Kept Primates Bill and Animals Abroad Bill. These new protections highlight some of the many animal welfare issues mentioned in the government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare, a manifesto being led by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice.

This flagship action plan is concerned with the welfare of companion, free roaming and farmed animals and will be largely underpinned by The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill. Introduced to Parliament on Thursday 13th May, this new bill will formally recognise vertebrate animals as sentient beings. Animal rights and welfare charities have long campaigned for government policies to acknowledge animal sentience, but is this bill just another meaningless welfare policy?

Sentience refers to our ability to experience various sensations and emotional states. For example, human beings and nonhuman animals alike have the capacity to feel both pain and happiness. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill will recognise animals as sentient beings, but it will not protect them from being farmed, slaughtered, experimented on, used in sport or otherwise exploited. With these hypocritical flaws in mind, it begs the question of why such a law would even exist.

It comes as no surprise that some animals will receive far greater protection than others. The Kept Primates Bill will propose a ban on the keeping of nonhuman primates as ‘pets’. However, the bill fails to acknowledge primates kept in zoos and laboratories. Furthermore, proposals to end the live exportation of animals from the UK are likely to exclude birds and animals exported for breeding. When we begin to examine the details of these welfare policies, it becomes undoubtedly clear that they are in place to appease the public and not to protect animals.

While animal rights activists can advocate for better animal welfare, this must be done with the greater goal of abolition in mind. Animal welfare has been historically used to prohibit the progression of animal rights. Similarly, animal welfare organisations have been used as tools to maintain animal oppression. For example, following the introduction of The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill, chief executive of the RSPCA, Chris Sherwood, stated “We can no longer ignore the inextricable link that exists between the way we treat animals, our own health and that of the planet”. The RSPCA’s support of this bill encourages the public to trust its efficiency, while neglecting to mention the significant role played by the RSPCA in upholding animal agriculture.

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In 2019, Animal Justice Project investigated ‘high welfare’, RSPCA Assured chicken farms. Our footage provided clear evidence of the pain and suffering experienced by broiler chickens, regardless of ‘higher welfare’ conditions. Birds on the farms we visited were forgotten amid careless and insufficient “welfare checks” by workers, whilst dead, lame, deformed, injured and dying birds lay on the shed floor. One lame and clearly sick chicken was left to suffer for at least two days, unable to access food and water, before finally dying. Our undercover footage has revealed time and time again that assurance schemes, such as RSPCA Assured and Red Tractor, are mere marketing ploys for the meat, egg and dairy industries.

In 2020, our investigation into Gressingham Duck’s slaughterhouse revealed 15 Red Tractor and government regulation breaches, including the horrific handling of ducks by their delicate legs and necks. Despite providing undeniable evidence to Red Tractor of Gressingham Duck’s gross negligence, Red Tractor has continued to assure Gressingham Duck, misleading British consumers.

Most recently, in 2021, we have exposed the many loopholes in supermarket and milk processor policies, which are failing to protect young male dairy calves from going to slaughter. Our groundbreaking Dairy Still Kills campaign revealed how the dairy industry’s move away from the shooting of calves on farms – another policy rooted in welfarism – has not prevented the killing of these vulnerable babies. Instead, tens of thousands of calves aged one month and under are being sent to slaughter every year. Our exposé of notorious calf dealers, Oaklands Livestock Centre, and slaughterhouse, G. & G.B. Hewitt, revealed indefensible violence against calves, suggesting that calves in the reformed dairy industry could be experiencing more abuse than ever before.

Is this a step in the right direction, or are we actually standing still?

It is crucial that we question laws being introduced within a system designed to oppress animals. Performative animal welfare policies instil a sense of government action on key animal welfare issues, however, these laws repeatedly fail to protect animals in reality. A system that regards any animal as a means of food, sport, entertainment or experimentation cannot be trusted to defend them. To truly achieve a kinder and fairer world for animals, we must strike at the roots of speciesism and implement laws based on animal rights, not animal welfare.

Could you support our growing animal rights organisation? Animal Justice Project is committed to ending animal exploitation and tearing down speciesism. Please donate today to help us create an equal world for animals.

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