Our new parliamentary report warns that animals across England and Wales are being failed by inconsistent and under-resourced enforcement, despite the UK having some of the strongest animal welfare laws in the world.
The Four Stages to Better Enforcement sets out a clear, practical plan to fix what it describes as a “broken enforcement system” that leaves animals suffering, responsible businesses undercut, and local authorities facing spiralling costs.
The report finds that animal welfare enforcement is currently patchy and inconsistent, with too few properly trained inspectors, poor coordination between agencies, and weak use of existing powers under laws such as the Animal Welfare Act 2006. As a result, cruelty and neglect often go unchecked, while unethical operators exploit gaps in oversight.
Our plan focuses on four key reforms:
- Knowledgeable inspectors – calling for dedicated, properly trained animal welfare officers, clearer national guidance and a Code of Practice to ensure enforcement is fair and consistent.
- Making better welfare pay – highlighting how effective enforcement could save public money by reducing lengthy animal seizures, dog bites, illegal breeding and unnecessary pressure on councils and the NHS.
- Empowering the public – proposing stronger education, better traceability of breeders through registration, and tools to help buyers avoid illegal and low-welfare sellers.
- Stronger partnerships – urging closer collaboration between councils, charities like the RSPCA, police and government, with improved data-sharing and better use of specialist expertise.
The report stresses that improving enforcement is not about heavy-handed regulation, but about prevention, education and smarter use of existing laws.
APGAW also highlights links between poor animal welfare enforcement and wider social issues, including dog attacks, organised crime and domestic abuse. Improving enforcement, it argues, is a public safety issue as well as an animal welfare one. Lord Trees, the co-chair of APGAW stated:
“We already have strong animal welfare laws. The problem is that they are too often not enforced. Fixing enforcement is the single biggest opportunity to improve animal welfare in a generation.”
APGAW is calling on Government to include improving animal welfare enforcement in their promised Animal Welfare Strategy due to be published shorty.
Red the report here
Recent Comments