Firstly, I would like to assure you that the Government is committed to upholding our world-leading animal welfare standards and to delivering a series of ambitious reforms, as outlined in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare.
As you will be aware, this Government has already implemented a number of animal welfare reforms including, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act, which introduced tougher sentences for cruelty, increasing maximum sentences. In addition, the Ivory Act came into force in 2022 and has recently been extended to cover five more endangered species.
I am confident that this Government remains fully committed to delivering its manifesto commitments on animal welfare. Having left the EU, the Government is able to and will ban live exports for fattening and slaughter. There have been no live exports from Great Britain since 2020, but legislation will ensure that this becomes permanent. Please be assured that my parliamentary and ministerial colleagues in DEFRA remain committed to creating effective animal welfare legislation and to delivering continued improvements, both in this Parliament and beyond.
