It's time to make Britain a world leader in animal welfare again
In 1997, Labour’s hugely popular ‘New Life for Animals’ manifesto committed to some of the most ambitious improvements to animal welfare our nation has ever seen. Tony Blair’s foreword to the manifesto emphasised Labour’s longstanding history of fighting for animal welfare at every available opportunity, and the manifesto pledged to pass new laws to improve the lives of animals throughout Britain. And we didn’t just make promises: the implementation of this manifesto saw the government successfully advocate for an EU-wide ban on cruel battery cages, ban the hunting of foxes with hounds, and pass the landmark Animal Welfare Act. What’s more, in 1998 we became the first nation in the world to ban cosmetic testing on animals, and in 2000, we became the first country to ban fur farming.
So, I couldn’t be more delighted to enter Parliament as the MP for North Ayrshire and Arran in July 2024 under a Labour government elected on a mandate to deliver the “biggest boost to animal welfare in a generation.” The strengthening of our animal welfare laws is long overdue. Under the Tories, there was broken promise after broken promise on animal welfare. These failures have left us trailing Europe when it comes to the protection of animals - particularly with respect to animals used in our food system, who comprise the vast majority of domesticated animals in the UK.
Take the use of cages, for example. Each year in the UK, approximately eight million layer hens spend their lives in cages and around 200,000 mother pigs are confined in farrowing crates. The footage of animals stuck in these cages is hard to watch. Enriched cages restrict many key natural behaviours of layer hens and provide little more space per hen than an A4 sheet of paper. Mother pigs kept in farrowing crates must endure similar conditions: they cannot turn around, nestle their piglets or express natural rooting or nest-building behaviours. This is no way for sentient beings - capable of experiencing pain and suffering just like us - to live.
The public want these cages gone. Polling by Bryant Research in 2022 found that 94% of the public oppose the use of enriched cages for chickens and 96% oppose the use of farrowing crates. These figures are unsurprising: Britain is a nation of animal lovers, and opposition to the use of cages has always been high. Yet, on this issue, we’re falling behind. Currently, the UK is ranked as only 9th
in Europe by percentage of cage-free animals, trailing Luxembourg, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia, Denmark and Belgium. If we want British industry to remain competitive, we must keep up.
The same goes for the implementation of mandatory animal welfare method-of-production labelling. We know that mandatory labelling works: following the Labour government’s promise in the `New Life for Animals’ manifesto, in 2004 the UK introduced mandatory method-of-production labelling for eggs, which was a resounding success. The sale of cage-free eggs nearly doubled in the decade that followed, and the vast majority (79%) of the market is now cage-free. It’s important to remember what this means in real terms: thanks to our party, millions of sentient beings now live better lives.
DEFRA already has a well-developed proposal for animal welfare labelling of meat, eggs, and pork. Society would overwhelmingly benefit from the implementation of this measure. Consumers want better labelling: 99% of individuals responding to DEFRA’s consultation supported the idea of mandatory animal welfare labelling. DEFRA’s impact assessment also found that, by allowing consumers to identify low welfare imports, mandatory welfare labelling would benefit British farmers by £40 million per year. The economy would benefit too: DEFRA’s calculations show a net benefit to society of £140 million over ten years. And of course, animals would also be winners, with DEFRA’s calculations predicting that it would lead to welfare improvements for more than 110 million animals every year. That’s huge.
So, I hope that - in addition to delivering our very important manifesto commitments to phase out animal testing, end the use of snares, puppy smuggling, and trail hunting, and to ban trophy hunting imports - we’ll make sure Britain truly leads on farmed animal welfare again. Because, as the party that fights for animal welfare at every available opportunity, there is much to be done. And, as in 1997, showing leadership on these issues is simply a case of delivering what the public wants.
Irene Campbell is the Labour MP for North Ayrshire and Arran, first elected in 2024.
