The Effect of the Brexit on Animal Welfare in the United Kingdom: A Case for Scepticism and Scrutiny

Abstract

The United Kingdom is scheduled to leave the European Union on the 29th March 2019. The political, legislative and ideological separation from the Union, its law and its institutions, draws into question the extent to which European laws will be maintained in the UK. As legislative protection for animal welfare in the UK is partly based off, has developed alongside, and is largely reliant on European Union legislation, the separation from the Union clearly requires consideration of how animal welfare protection will continue to be guaranteed in the UK, and how current standards can be upheld. While there is a case to be made for the Brexit being an opportunity to improve animal welfare standards domestically, I present a compelling argument for the need to address this optimism with scepticism and scrutiny. The reasoning of this is threefold. Firstly, that in spite of the positive history of animal law in the UK, the majority of animal welfare legislation in the UK is based on EU law, meaning that while its transposition is both necessary and possible, it will not be a simple task. Secondly, that in spite of clear ambition demonstrated by the Conservative Government, its position on certain animal welfare issues in recent years undermines its credibility for fulfilling such ambitious and uncharacteristic promises. Thirdly, that animal welfare concerns must be balanced with competing interests, but are often overlooked. Once having presented my case, I will consider the greater political context of the Brexit to suggest two possible reasons as to why such ambitious improvements to animal welfare have been pledged.

Keywords

• Animal law
• animal welfare
• legislative protection of animals
• European law
• European Union
• Brexit