Why animal welfare failures threaten the rule of law.

[Smadar Spector]

Why animal welfare failures threaten the rule of law.

Britain likes to see itself as a global leader in animal welfare. It does often lead the way - on paper. 

The Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations, and a suite of species-specific protections form a comprehensive framework designed to deliver meaningful protection for the more than one billion farmed animals within UK borders each year.

But the latest The Enforcement Problem: 2024 Data Report from the Animal Law Foundation reveals an uncomfortable truth: much of this legislative architecture is functionally dormant. The law exists: the enforcement system does not.

https://theecologist.org/2026/jan/08/animal-rights-and-legal-wrongs