Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to legislate to define animal sentience.

The Government is committed to further strengthening our world-leading animal welfare standards. We have committed to bringing in new laws on animal sentience. Any necessary changes required to domestic legislation will be made in a rigorous and comprehensive way and will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows.

Additionally, we have committed to ending excessively long journeys, and banning the keeping of primates as pets. We want to increase maximum sentences for animal cruelty, which is being taken forward as a Private Members Bill.