Animal Welfare
(asked on 15th July 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on animal sentience.
This question was answered on 22nd July 2025
The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 already recognises vertebrate animals, decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs as sentient beings. The Act created an accountability mechanism which aims to ensure that UK Ministers have due regard to their welfare needs when formulating and implementing government policy.