PETA Signs Letter Urging Michael Gove to Strengthen Animal-Welfare Laws Post-Brexit
PETA, along with dozens of other UK animal-protection groups, has reached out to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with a letter and a set of recommendations for strengthening animal-welfare laws post-Brexit.
The letter, which was delivered to Secretary Gove earlier this week, was sent by the UK Centre for Animal Law and Wildlife and Countryside Link and signed by 26 groups, including PETA. It comes in response to Parliament’s vote in November against including a clause on animal sentience in the EU Withdrawal Bill. Following a public outcry over the vote, Secretary Gove made a statement to the House of Commons insisting that the government is committed to protecting animal welfare after the UK leaves the EU – news which was welcomed by PETA and others.
Included with the letter was a briefing on the key areas of animal welfare which may be affected, including wild animals, animals in agriculture, domesticated animals, and animals used in experiments. In addition to recommending that various EU laws and regulations be implemented in domestic UK law, it also suggests a number of reforms to improve animal welfare. These include a ban on live exports of animals, an end to permitting “severe” suffering to be inflicted on animals used in experiments, and a potential ban on the import of all commercial fur products.
What You Can Do
One of the key ways in which the government can strengthen animal-welfare law is by introducing a ban on wild-animal circuses. Please contact Secretary Gove now and ask him to outlaw this cruel form of entertainment.
