Report suggests democratisation is key to protecting animals

A groundbreaking new report from the Centre for Animals and Social Justice, and involving Leicester research,  recommends fundamental changes to the way the government makes animal welfare policy.

The main conclusion is that introducing greater democracy into decisions affecting animals is essential to achieve effective animal protection that commands public confidence. 

Titled ‘How to Protect Animal Welfare’, the report reveals that claims made by government and animal use industries that the ‘UK has the highest animal welfare standards in the world’ lack supporting evidence. Instead, such statements are a tactic to provide false public reassurance, thereby distracting attention from the weak enforcement of animal welfare regulations.

The report includes a summary of a research project carried out for the Centre by Professor Rob Garner (pictured) of the Department of Politics and International Relations, who concludes that the animal protection movement needs to take unified action to address the systemic flaws in government which render it indifferent to animal welfare.

Suggested reforms span from proportional representation for general elections through to a much greater role for public deliberation when Whitehall departments formulate policies affecting animals. Without such reforms, lobbying campaigns aimed at addressing animal welfare problems in isolation will continue to fall on deaf ears in government.