The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has warned that that the UK’s animal welfare standards could plunge as a result of new post-Brexit legislation.
Specifically, it believes that 44 welfare laws carried over from the EU come are under threat from proposed new UK government legislation, the Retained EU law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, also known as the REUL Bill, which will be discussed on Wednesday (January 18) in the House of Commons will discuss.
The purpose of the REUL Bill is to revoke certain retained EU laws, including some relevant to the business of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
The RSPCA said the legislation that could be removed is “crucial” as it has made “animals’ lives better”, such as the bans on battery hens and cosmetics testing on animals and the use of farm animal growth promoters.
According to the charity, around 80% of all major animal welfare laws in the UK were agreed when the UK was a member of the EU.
Existing laws including the battery hen ban, the ban on cosmetics testing on animals and the banning of growth promoters in farm animals are some of the 44 animal welfare-related pieces of legislation brought over from the EU which are now in danger of being scrapped, it said.
RSPCA head of public affairs, David Bowles, said: “It’s crunch time for many key animal welfare laws that help make animals’ lives better.
“If the UK’s REUL Bill passes, hard-won laws that we take for granted now, such as the bans on battery hens, cosmetics testing on animals and growth promoters given to farm animals, could be lost.
“If inertia or a lack of commitment from the new administration results in the time running out before the filtering process of those 44 key pieces of animal welfare legislation can take place, those laws will automatically vanish into thin air.
“That would be a tragedy. Not only would it be a huge backward step for animals but the UK government would have reneged on its commitment to maintain high standards of animal welfare post-Brexit, because around 80% of all major animal welfare laws in the UK are those carried over from the EU.
“We must not allow animal welfare standards to drop as a result of the UK government’s determination to create a bonfire of EU laws.
“We are calling on the new secretaries of state at the Business and environment ministries to drop the bill completely as it serves no real purpose.
“If they wish to push ahead regardless we call on them to confirm an extension to the deadline to 2026 as the bill allows.”
The report stage is the second last stage in the House of Commons, however the bill also has to pass though five stages in the House of Lords, and amendment stages and reach Royal Assent.
The bill is enabling bill, so even after passing is main impact will not occur until department make use of the powers contained within to “amend, assimilate and sunset REUL”, according to the governments’ impact assessment of the bill.
