Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022
Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
---|---|
Dates | |
Royal assent | 28 April 2022 |
Status: Current legislation | |
History of passage through Parliament | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 (c. 22) is an act of the
Background
The bill was created after an original attempt to reintroduce animal sentience back into the law through the Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) Bill 2017.[5] Before Brexit sentience was provided through Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which stated that states "shall, since animals are sentient beings, pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals" when they formulate EU policies.[6] On the 15 November 2017, a vote was taken on whether to incorporate Article 13 into the EU (Withdrawal) Bill where it was defeated 313 to 295 votes in the House of Commons,[7] as well as 211 against 169 for in the House of Lords.[8] The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill partly came about through the desire to separate out the two sections of the Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) Bill, being sentencing and sentience.[9]
Passage
The bill was introduced by minister Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 13 May 2021.[10]
Reception
Fears that the bill will infringe on "
There has also been critique that the original bill did not go far enough as it fails to recognise the sentience of invertebrates. According to recent studies conducted by C. M. Sherwin, the notion that invertebrates are not sentient is incorrect, as many studies on them are conducted differently.[16] If the same arguments from analogy were used in investigations on invertebrates then it would be concluded that they were sentient.[17] Therefore, leaving them out of the bill may cause them to be unduly unprotected.[18] The final bill was amended to include some invertebrate animals such as octopuses and lobsters,[4] following a scientific review that concluded that there was "strong scientific evidence" octopuses were sentient.[19]
See also
References
- GOV.UK. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Animals to be formally recognised as sentient beings in UK law". The Guardian. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ a b Sachkova, Margarita (28 April 2022). "Huge Milestone! UK Law Now Recognises Animals as Being Sentient". PETA UK. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ "Draft Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) Bill 2017". GOV.UK. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ "EUR-Lex - 12016E013 - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ "Brexit, Article 13, and the debate on recognising "animal sentience" in law" (PDF). A-Law UK Centre for Animal Law. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ProQuest 2034909851.
- ^ "Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) Bill report published - Committees - UK Parliament". committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ "Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL] - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament". bills.parliament.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
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- ^ "Sentience bill will glue up government with a bonkers animal rights agenda - Nick Herbert". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ Nurse, Angus (2019). "A Question of Sentience: Brexit, Animal Welfare and Animal Protection Law". Journal of Animal & Environmental Law. 10: 32–59.
- ^ PMID 30917541.
- ^ Jessica Horton and Jonathan Merritt, 'Show Me Your Horse and I Will Tell You Who You Are: Brexit, a Chance to Acknowledge Animal Sentience in Law' (2019) 31 Denning LJ 5
- S2CID 54126137.
- S2CID 54126137.
- ^ Pandey, Manish (18 June 2021). "MPs: Octopuses feel pain and need legal protection". BBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "The world's first octopus farm - should it go ahead?". BBC News. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2023.