Document type : news item taken from Générations Nouvelles
Original Author in English : Andrew McDonald (Politico website)
Preview: LONDON — A bill aimed at boosting animal welfare and championed by Boris Johnson has been shelved, the U.K. government confirmed Thursday — sparking immediate anger from some of its own MPs.
Ministers faced claims of backsliding — including from the Conservative benches — after a minister said the U.K. would drop its Kept Animals Bill, and instead only seek other means to introduce some of its measures.
Promised by ex-prime minister Johnson — who introduced other protection measures including a bill which recognized animals as sentient beings — the legislation would have imposed new curbs on puppy imports and end the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter. The bill had already stalled once, and was reintroduced to the Commons last May.
Announcing the move in the House of Commons Thursday, Environment Minister Mark Spencer insisted the government would still meet 2019 Conservative manifesto commitments on animal welfare. But he said the move was necessary to avoid the measures being "mired in political game-playing."
"The bill risked being extended far beyond the original commitments in the manifesto and the action plan," he argued.
But the announcement was met with anger from the opposition and some environmentalist Tory MPs. [...]
The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation — whose members include Tory lawmakers — immediately hit out at the "missed opportunity to further enhance the welfare and protection of animals across the United Kingdom." [...]
Alex Sobel, the Labour shadow minister for nature, said the announcement was a "huge step backwards for animal welfare."
Humane Society International, a non-profit promoting the end of animal suffering, called the decision an "astonishing betrayal of both animals and public trust."
Further article in English on the same subject published in The Guardian on May 25, 2023: Tories accuse Sunak of breaking pledge after animal welfare U-turn
