The UK Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare in England (2021) set out ambitious plans to strengthen protections for animals.

Many of these changes were heralded as a Brexit benefit. Unfortunately, many of these plans have stalled or been dropped, including a commitment to ban the export of live animals and explore potential action to ban the import of fur and foie gras.

Overall, there is a huge contrast between the vision painted by the Action Plan for Animal Welfare and the reality as the end of the Parliament approaches. The Government must act swiftly to deliver its promise of a new era of animal welfare advances.

Compassion in World Farming has fed into this report published by Wildlife and Countryside Link and the UK Centre for Animal Law.