London, 1st October 2024 – The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF) held the Animals Matter reception at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. The event, hosted in partnership with the Animals Matter coalition of leading UK animal welfare charities-the RSPCA, Four Paws UK, Compassion in World Farming and Humane Society International UK attracted a wide audience of MPs, Peers, NGOs and media at the Hyatt Regency. The reception highlighted the importance of advancing animal welfare and celebrated both World Farm Animal Day and World Animal Day, which take place this week.
The event was hosted by Dame Rebecca Harris MP, and featured contributions from CAWF Patrons the Rt Hon Mark Francois MP, Anna Firth, and Jane Stevenson, alongside Patron and journalist Iain Dale, the Rt Hon Theresa Villiers, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP and Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst MP. The reception served as a significant opportunity to acknowledge the previous Conservative Government’s animal welfare achievements while addressing the urgent need for further progress, particularly in farm animal welfare.
In her opening remarks, Dame Rebecca Harris praised the achievements of the former Conservative Government, including the historic ban on live exports for slaughter and fattening, the Pet Abduction Act, the ban on keeping primates as pets, the Animal (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act, and the Glue Traps Offences Act. She expanded:
“The Conservative government achieved a huge raft of new animal welfare laws whilst in power -the biggest improvements to animal welfare in a generation: We made microchipping compulsory for cats, protected service animals through Finn’s Law, ended the import and export of detached shark fins, banned the commercial third- party sales of puppies and kittens(Lucy’s Law) introduced the Ivory Act and extended it to encompass more species, delivered the Wild Animals in Circuses Act, enshrined animal sentience in law, introduced mandatory CCTV into slaughterhouses, implemented tougher sentences for animal cruelty, introduced the Environment Act, formed the Action Plan for Animal Welfare, introduced the Animal Sentience Committee, established Blue Belt Programme and introduced the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. A long list!”
Dame Rebecca also emphasised the importance of advancing farm animal welfare, calling for mandatory animal welfare labelling on all animal products for human consumption, the banning of pig farrowing crates, ending cages for laying hens and ensuring that farmed fish receive equal legal protection to terrestrial farmed animals.
Mark Francois MP addressed guests and paid tribute to the late Sir David Amess and his work to advance animal welfare.
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst MP spoke on the importance of animal welfare in the Conservative Party and its achievements in delivering new animal welfare laws.
Broadcaster and author Iain Dale spoke at the event, sharing his perspective on the ongoing need for political and public support in advancing animal welfare legislation across the political spectrum.
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP spoke on how Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation was founded years ago and her ongoing support to advance animal welfare as a Patron.
Theresa Villiers MP, CAWF Patron and former Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), addressed the room on the historical live exports ban and called for the ban on trophy hunting imports to be introduced.
Patron and former MP Anna Firth who recently spearheaded the landmark Pet Abduction Act, expressed her pride in this significant legislative milestone and called for an end to animal experiments.
Former MP Jane Stevenson, a key champion behind the Glue Traps Offences Act, also shared her thoughts on the importance of this new law in reducing the suffering caused by inhumane traps. She said that it’s important for the sales of glue traps to be banned.
Lorraine Platt, Co-Founder of Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, commented: “We were delighted to hold the Animals Matter reception yesterday in collaboration with our friends at the RSPCA, Four Paws UK, Compassion in World Farming and Humane Society International UK. It was inspiring to hear from so many passionate advocates for animal welfare. We would like to express our thanks to Dame Rebecca Harris MP for hosting this special reception, as well as all our speakers: Iain Dale, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Mark Francois MP, Dr Neil Shastri- Hurst MP, Theresa Villiers, Anna Firth and Jane Stevenson.
