by Ankita Shanker LLB (R’dg), BCL (Oxf), BPTC (BPP) 28 March 2024 was a historic day for the Animal Rights movement, as indigenous leaders of various Pacific Islands banded together to ratify the He Whakaputanga Moana (Declaration for the Ocean). What is significant about this instrument is that is recognises whales as rights-holding persons in law, with their inherent legal rights encompassing, e.g., to a healthy environment, to freedom of movement, and to thrive. Legal personhood and legal rights have long been seen as the sole entitlement of human beings, based ..read more

4 October 2023 Laura Kiy, Tiffany Mitchell, Lotta Teale, Paula Sparks – UK Centre for Animal Law For World Animal Day, we are celebrating recent positive law reforms that have the potential to improve the lives of animals across the globe. We encourage all legislatures and courts around the world to be proactive in protecting the interests of animals. United Kingdom recognises animal sentience. In 2022 the UK enacted the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022. This legislation recognises that animals are sentient and impacts of policy on sentient animals is now considered across Ministerial depar ..read more

Join us in extending congratulations to the winners of the 2023 Annual Student Essay Competition.  Daniel is our first-place winner for the 2023 competition, and you’ll be able to read his article in our next edition of the UK Journal of Animal Law which should be published December 2023. To receive this journal, subscribe here. Daniel has an MPhil in European Cultures and is currently researching animal representation(s) in law and literature. He performed vegan poetry to delegates nibbling beef canapés at COP26 and has translated animal rights books into En ..read more

The Sentencing Council has issued guidelines effective from 1 July 2023, which reflect the increased sentencing powers under the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 (the ‘Act’) for animal cruelty offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The Act increased the maximum sentence of imprisonment for certain offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 from six months to five years and, as a result, cases may now be heard in either the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court, depending upon the severity of the offence.   The sentencing guidelines will shape the court’s approach to, and use ..read more

Betteshanger Country Park in Deal, Kent is a testament to the positive environmental impact a community can have when they come together to reimagine and revitalise land impacted by years of industrial use. Betteshanger Country Park is a 250-acre ‘rewilded colliery site’ that boasts a variety of wildlife including rare birds, beavers, bats, as well as numerous flora and fauna, some of which are rare and listed on the Kent Rare Plant Register. Other species of wild animal include Euarsian Beavers, different types of bats, grass snakes which are protected against persecution through destruction ..read more

by the A-Law companion animals working group At long last, cats in England will have stronger protections under the law. After years of campaigns from action groups, cat owners and more, on March 13 Parliament announced new legislation introducing mandatory cat microchipping. The new law affects pet cats, and not cats that live freely with little or no human interaction. Under the new law, owners have until 10 June 2024 to have a microchip implanted in their cats, and the chip’s details must be registered, stored, and kept up to date on a pet microchipping database. If a cat is discovered to b ..read more

In a case brought by Cruelty Free International, (“CFI”) the High Court ruled on 5 May 2023 that the UK government was acting legally when it relaxed its policy ban on animal testing for cosmetics in 2019. However the judge, Mr Justice Linden, acknowledged that the relaxation of the ban was not legally required (as the government had argued), and that the ban could be lawfully reinstated by the government.  On 17 May 2023, the Home Secretary announced in a statement to Parliament that the ban would indeed be reinstated as “…no new licences will be granted for animal testing of chemicals t ..read more

Chris Packham wins libel claim in respect of articles published on Country Squire website accusing him of dishonesty. One of the allegations made against Mr Packham concerned his fundraising for tigers that had been rescued from a circus where he believed they had been kept in conditions not conducive to good animal welfare. It was alleged that ‘in fact (as Mr Packham knew) the Tigers had been well-treated and had been donated by the circus.’ [Packham v Wightman and others [2023] EWHC 1256 (KB) , para. 10]. The court heard expert evidence addressing the welfare of travelling circus tigers and ..read more

The primary aim of the Online Safety Bill is to protect children and other vulnerable individuals from harmful online content. While this covers content that relates to violence, drugs, alcohol or sexual themes, there are a number of amendments being proposed that would also add animal abuse and wildlife trafficking into the scope of the Bill. The Wildlife and Countryside Link has prepared this helpful brief, to explain what amendments are being put forward at committee stage, and the justifications for those amendments. You can read this brief here: https://www.wcl.org.uk/docs/assets/uploads ..read more

By Oliver Hirsch The US Supreme Court has upheld Proposition 12, a Californian law setting minimum standards for the confinement of egg-laying hens, breeding pigs and cows. What is Prop 12? “Prop 12” was passed by referendum in 2018, with around 63% of California voters in favour. Among other things, it requires that in order to be sold in the state, pig meat must come from breeding sows (and their offspring) whose enclosures allow at least 24 square feet of usable floor space per pig. The measure is designed to counter the practice of keeping pregnant sows in crates that are too small even to ..read more