Animal Welfare

16 Aug

Animal welfare is a fundamental in any sector involving animals, whether that be farming, veterinary medicine or simply pet ownership. In 2026, it was estimated that 62% of households own a pet. This is why the laws of animal welfare are so important to most people. In this post, I am going to give a bit more detail into the history of animal welfare laws in the UK and actually explain how they work .

History

The first animal welfare act in the world was the UK’s 1822 Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act. This law meant that abuse against some domestic farm animals became illegal. This included the treatment of “Horses, Mares, Geldings, Mules, Asses, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Oxen, Sheep, and other Cattle”

Two years after the formation of this act - in 1824 -, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (more often known as the RSPCA) was created and led by Reverend Arthur Broome.

By 1835, a new law abolished Bull and Bear baiting, Cockfighting and dog fighting, stating: “for the fighting or baiting of Dogs, Bulls, Bears, or other Animals, and for fighting Cocks”.

In 1911, a law in the UK named the Protection of Animals Act 1911 meant that it was illegal to beat/kick/abuse and animal that was domestic/captive. It banned animal fights and more strictly regulated knacker yards

More recently, in 2006, the animal welfare act was updated. Currently, its main focus is centred section 9’s ‘Five Welfare Needs’, this includes, environment, diet, behaviour, company and health. Failure to comply with these rules may lead to the following consequences for the owner: ‘be banned from owning animals’, ‘face an unlimited fine’ and ‘be sent to prison for up to 5 years’.

Additionally, the Welfare of Farmed animal regulations was updated in 2007 to include more specific details on improving the welfare of animals in farms.

Definition

The OIE (World Organisation for animal health) defines animal welfare as “the physical and mental state of an animal in relation to the conditions in which it lives and dies.”

It is noted that there is a difference between animal rights and animal welfare that many people are not aware of. Animal Welfare focuses on the quality of the life of the animal when in the care of humans. This can be improved through the way that animals are handled. Animal Rights suggest that the animals have a right to life away from the ownership of humans. This viewpoint suggests that “animals exist for their own purposes” rather than to help people in any way. This approach is more philosophical and is harder to attest for in real life scenarios.

Despite their differences, both animal welfare and animal rights are both complex definitions and so are widely contested.

Animal welfare in farming

Due to the large number of people on the planet (currently 8.3 billion at the time of writing), farming has strayed away from small family farms into widespread factory farms. Unfortunately, due to the intense demand for cheap animal products, the budget for welfare in farms decreases. This can result in things such as an increase in disease, cramped living conditions and low quality of life for these animals.

The UK is relatively far ahead in terms of factory farming (compared to other high income countries such as the US). In the UK, labels such as the RSPCA assured label increases the quality of life for these animals.

However, online there is much criticism of the scheme. I found many websites which stated that even factories with the RSPCA assured label did not meet qualifying standards, some of the details were truly sickening (including footage evidenced accounts of abuse to the animals in their care).

In 2012, battery farms were banned. This was a huge step forward for animal welfare. However, so called ‘enriched cages’ are still permitted. According to the RSPCA’s ‘cage free future’ future, this only meant that cages needed to be 9% larger and so each chicken only required a space the size of a sheet of A4 paper (hardly enough to allow for natural behaviours). Currently, the RSPCA is campaigning for cage free for all chickens.

One key welfare issue today is the rise in the number of ‘Frankenchickens’. These are chickens that are genetically modified to grow at an unnatural rate to increase meat and reduce cost. This causes intense suffering for these animals. This issue is so widespread that even celebrities are speaking out against this practise. Well known nature presenter, Chris Packham, advocated for a boycott from Pret a manger for these continued use of frankenchickens in their products. Unfortunately, due to their unnatural size, these chickens are susceptible to a multitude of health issues. Some of the most common include:

White striping - this is where blood supply is reduced to the chicken’s legs and leads to muscle and organ failure.
Deformities - caused by increased weight
Cardiovascular failure - leading to heart attacks
Leg and hip issues - making walking painful

The issue isn’t just in chickens either, for pigs, the use of farrowing crates greatly compromises welfare. The use of these crates is intended to prevent harm to piglets, but the sow is confined to a very small space which makes natural behaviour impossible for these pigs. The BVA states that “The system has to be changed." and suggest that the use of these crates should be banned by the government. They lay out a 6 step plan to move away from these crates as it is understandable that big changes (60% of piglets are raised in these crates) take time. I have attached this at the bottom of the page.

Animal Welfare in companion animals

Animal Welfare in companion animals is often to much higher standard than factory farming. Whether that be fair or not is up for question.

Still, welfare concerns are seen in issues such as:

The breeding of extreme conformations (for example like the Brachycephalic dogs I previously wrote a post about)
Pet mills
The lack of knowledge in small and exotic animal care (such as hamsters)
Pet obesity
Stray animals
Neglect

The Veterinary perspective

The governement states that the veterinary sector should be

“Deeply committed to ensuring that we have a thriving veterinary sector. One that properly supports the professionals who dedicate their lives to caring for animals and upholds the highest standards of animal welfare.”

Many Vets try to speak out against welfare issues, being involved with charity and avocation events. However, sometimes vets distance themselves from welfare issues. They may have a “fear of extremism and fruitless exchanges”. If Vets take the subject matter too heavily, they risk losing the trust of the public and hence making the welfare issues worse.

If Vets are to improve the standards of animal welfare, it is necessary to educate but empathise with the actions of their customers. For example, if an owner of a pug with class 3 BOAS comes through the door to the practise, the first thought must not be to judge the owner of the dog for purchasing such a dog with welfare issues. Rather, the vet should seek to find the best solution for the welfare of the dog, gently educating the owner about the breed’s issues and discussing how best to help the dog.

Conclusion

Animal welfare is an issue where more regulations are needed. In animal welfare, education is extremely important. Oftentimes, people struggle to see when animals are struggling and therefore someone needs to be there to be the voice of these animals. Thankfully, animal welfare is now taken far more seriously across the globe and so hopefully in the years to come we will stricter regulations to help improve animal welfare. Recently (in 2021), the maximum sentence for animal welfare issues raised from 6 months to 5 years. This shows just how important people see this issue today.

History

Pet ownership in the UK 2026| Statista

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-06-15/hl988

https://statutes.org.uk/site/the-statutes/nineteenth-century/1822-3-george-4-c-71-cruel-treatment-of-cattle-act/

https://www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/whoweare/history

https://vlex.co.uk/vid/cruelty-to-animals-act-808107209

504 Gateway Time-out

Animal welfare - GOV.UK

Definition

https://ww w.bva.co.uk/take-action/our-policies/animal-welfare/

https://www.worldanimalprotection.ca/blogs/what-is-the-difference-between-animal-rights-and-animal-welfare/

Animal Welfare in practise