𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

As we prepare for a new Labour Leader and Prime Minister, I want to take the opportunity to make the case for prioritising a demographic all too easily forgotten and that cannot speak for itself. Animals.

Across this country, and around the world, animals are suffering appalling exploitation and cruelty at the hands of humans.

In the UK, millions of chickens suffer in tiny cages no bigger than a piece of A4 paper, unable to flap their wings, and thousands of pigs are confined to crates for up to five weeks, unable even to turn around.

British wildlife continues to be hunted by packs of hounds or caught in snares.

While around the world endangered species are killed by British trophy hunters purely for fun and millions of wild racoon dogs, foxes and mink are farmed in appalling conditions to service the inhumane and outdated fur trade.

Tackling these issues would not only improve the lives of millions of sentient creatures but would have countless additional benefits to all aspects of our lives.

Ending factory farming practices benefits the environment, helping to clear up our waterways and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Eradicating practices like fur farming promotes public health by reducing the risk of zoonotic diseases like COVID- 19 spreading and mutating.

Additionally, tackling puppy farming impacts organised crime and ensures British families aren’t left heartbroken by the loss of sick and mistreated puppies. The list goes on.

As far as popular and cost-effective policies, a new PM need look no further than animal welfare. Many campaigns are focused on ending cruel practices so involve little financial cost and polling consistently shows overwhelming support across the country and across the political spectrum for a whole host of animal welfare issues.

That support is reflected amongst MPs too. This week I re-tabled my Fur (Import and Sale) Bill to finally end UK involvement in the barbaric fur trade, a campaign which is supported by more than 200 Parliamentarians from across the House.

Animal welfare is an issue that truly unites the country, with Britain often described as a nation of animal lovers it is important that our Government reflects that weight of feeling.

In 2024, I was proud to stand on a manifesto that made several commitments on animal welfare including a long-promised ban on the import of hunting trophies, a ban on trail hunting, an end to the cruelty of puppy farming and cross-border puppy trade and the use of snare traps.

However, as we prepare to mark two years in government, progress on achieving these commitments has been slow; the puppy smuggling Bill passed last year but has not come into force and while consultations to ban trail hunting and end the use of colony cage systems for hens have been carried out, many issues remain untouched.

I salute the hard work of Animal Welfare Minister Baroness Hayman. I know she is deeply committed to this issue, and I welcome the ambitious Animal Welfare Strategy released at the end of last year.

However, delivering on these commitments needs support at all levels of government, and so I call on our new leader to prioritise delivering on these important commitments.

Labour has always been the Party of animal welfare. When we were last in power, we made transformative change, ending the domestic production of fur, ending cosmetic testing on animals, passing the Hunting Act and the groundbreaking Animal Welfare Act (which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year).

We have an opportunity to deliver the biggest boost to animal welfare in a generation, but that direction must come from the top.

I hope that our new Prime Minister will seize on this opportunity and listen to the wishes of millions of animal-loving voters across the nation and deliver a legacy for animals that we can all be proud of.

Ruth Jones is the Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn