LONDON, 26th October 2022
Yesterday (Tuesday 25th October) the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF) welcomed the appointment of Dr Thérèse Coffey MP by new Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister the Rt Hon. Rishi Sunak MP.
CAWF is calling for a number of key animal welfare commitments included in the Conservative Party Manifesto 2019 and the subsequent Action Plan for Animal Welfare to be delivered by the new Defra Secretary, including:
- Supporting the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill which would end live exports for fattening and slaughter.
- Honouring existing commitments to consult on ending cages for laying hens and sows on British farms.
- Supporting Henry Smith MP’s Private Members Bill to ban trophy hunting imports, a measure included in both the 2019 Manifesto and Action Plan for Animal Welfare.
- Maintaining commitments not to undermine British farmers in trade deals, in order to ensure British farmers are not undercut by cheap low-welfare foreign goods.
In recent months Rishi Sunak’s campaign committed to bringing back the Kept Animals Bill to Parliament, and also supporting CAWF Patron Henry Smith MP’s Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill. The commitments came following a question from CAWF Co-Founder Lorraine Platt at a local constituency husting and in a written response (here).
Lorraine Platt, Co-Founder of Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, commented: “Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation is delighted to welcome Dr Thérèse Coffey MP as Secretary of State for Defra. We hope she will build on the animal welfare and environmental progress set in motion over the last two years and deliver on important Conservative Manifesto commitments in these areas.
“We welcome Rishi Sunak’s pledge to bring back the Kept Animals Bill and support our Patron Henry Smith MP’s Bill on ending hunting trophy imports. Over the next few weeks we invite Dr Coffey to confirm when these commitments will materialise, and whether her Department will honour existing commitments to hold consultations on ending cages for laying hens and sows on British farms.
“We would like to congratulate Dr Coffey once again and wish her the very best in her time as Secretary of State. CAWF looks forward to supporting her to advance animal welfare in the UK.”
About Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF)
The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation was established in 2016 to raise awareness on the lives of billions of animals reared on intensive farms around the world and how this impact upon animal welfare, the environment and people’s health. We want to highlight the action people can take to help advance farm animal welfare.
Animal welfare is an increasing concern amongst the public, who frequently look to Government to take the lead in both maintaining and improving standards.
The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation believes it is highly important that the welfare of farm animals is placed at the forefront of the Governments plan for food and farming along with its focus on productivity, competitiveness, and technology.
Media contact: Sophia Stileman (sophia.stileman@conservativeanimalwelfarefoundation.org)
