Sunday, July 08, 2018

Animal rights?

While debating the Brexit bill, MPs voted not to transfer into UK law the parts of EU legislation which recognise animals have sentience and can feel pain and emotions, effectively declaring that all animals (apart from humans, of course) have no emotions or feelings, including the ability to feel pain. 

At the moment, 80 per cent of the UK’s animal welfare legislation comes from the EU.  When we leave the EU, pets will be protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. But where does this leave wild animals, those in labs, and those in other forms of captivity? Just a small example of this is cosmetics testing. Under EU law it is illegal to test on animals for cosmetics like body wash and nail varnish. But this could easily be scrapped just like the recognition of animals as sentient beings has been. 

We are looking at a very grim future for animals, where hunting is reintroduced, labs are free to test on animals with as much cruelty as they wish (and no pain relief) and farms are less and less regulated.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/brexit-government-vote-animal-sentience-cant-feel-pain-eu-withdrawal-bill-anti-science-tory-mps-a8065161.html

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