The government is guilty of an 'astonishing betrayal' on measures to protect animals

Ministers and civil servants are fond of repeating the mantra that the UK is a world leader in animal welfare, and a raft of reforms were promised in both the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto, as well as in the party’s grand animal-welfare plan of 2021, announced to great fanfare

- JANE DALTON

They included a ban on exports abroad of live calves and sheep in cruel conditions for fattening and slaughter – widely touted as one of the big benefits of Brexit. The promises also included a crackdown on puppy smuggling and pet theft, a ban on importing declawed cats and dogs with cropped ears, greater protection for sheep from dangerous dogs, a ban on keeping primates as pets and improved rules on zoo animal welfare.

But now the government has announced it is scrapping the Kept Animals Bill that contained the measures, to the united fury of animal lovers, lobbyists and charities, who accused the government of an “astonishing betrayal of both animals and public trust”. After all, many people have worked for decades towards getting such legislation into parliament.

During the Conservative Party leadership race, Rishi Sunak himself pledged to lead the measures. “Rishi looks forward to championing this Bill as it continues to progress through parliament,” his team wrote. The U-turn over the reforms appears designed to draw a line under the government of Boris

Johnson, for whom the Bill had been a flagship piece of legislation.

And the UK's leading animal-protection organisations have warned that animals will continue to suffer without the protections the Bill would have provided. Puppies and kittens will still be victims of smuggling, and dogs and cats abducted, according to Battersea, Blue Cross, Cats Protection, Dogs Trust, the RSPCA and the Kennel Club. And dogs with cropped ears and declawed cats - both considered cruel, needless mutilations may still be imported into the UK.