Report demands animal law enforcement reform

Campaigners have demanded “structural reform” to the enforcement of UK animal welfare laws after a new report revealed a continuing and widespread lack of action.

Figures released by the Animal Law Foundation suggested only 2.2% of all farms were officially inspected last year, down from 2.53% in 2023.

Its third Enforcement Problem report also found that barely half (53.86%) of complaints to councils in England, Scotland and Wales triggered an inspection, while no action followed a similar proportion (55.81%) of identified breaches.

The group’s executive director, Edie Bowles, said the findings had followed a pattern of “low inspections, high non-compliance and almost no consequences”.

Protection failing

She added: “The UK has strong animal protection laws on paper, but without enforcement they are failing the very animals they are meant to protect.

“Public bodies increasingly acknowledge the scale of the problem. What we need now is political commitment and structural reform.”

The report does record an increase in levels of detected non-compliance on farms from 22% in 2023 to 28.4% last year, though only 2.2% of cases were found to have been prosecuted.

But it also argues that interventions from a range of bodies in recent months show a “clear and growing momentum” for change.

‘Real protections’

Ms Bowles said: “The UK Government cannot claim to be a world leader in animal protection while failing to enforce the laws that already exist.”

Hopes for reform are likely to rest largely on the content of Defra’s new Animal Welfare Strategy, which it has said it plans to publish before the end of the year.

However, dozens of MPs have already signed a letter calling for greater enforcement powers and resources.

Green Party MP Adrian Ramsay, who has co-ordinated the campaign, said: “The Government can and must ensure that the new Animal Welfare Strategy delivers real protections for animals and strengthens enforcement once and for all.”