A new report from the Animal Law Foundation illuminates the United Kingdom’s lack of farm inspections as a significant shortcoming, with the data reportedly showing disregard for the welfare of farmed animals.
“The Enforcement Problem” is a collaborative report with Animal Equity, first published in 2022 to shed light on the United Kingdom’s enforcement of laws protecting farmed animals from abuse. The research showed that between 2018 and 2021 less than 3% of England, Wales, and Scotland’s 291,000 farms were inspected and there was only one inspector for every 205 farms. Those numbers didn’t improve, with the new data showing 2.5% of the farms were inspected in the most recent years of 2022 and 2023, with an abysmal one inspector for every 882 farms in 2022 and one inspector for every 874 farms in 2023.
Despite the U.K. having animal welfare laws in place, lack of enforcement is widespread, according to the report. The latest data shows that less than 1% of farms found to be violating animal welfare laws were prosecuted.
One key animal welfare violation documented in the report is tail docking (removal of the tail) in pigs. Docking a pig’s tail is considered a painful procedure that can cause the pig lasting trauma, distress, and even chronic pain. It is banned in the U.K. for the most part, with exceptions made if no other measures have prevented tail-biting. In light of this, the revelation that tail docking between the years of 2016 and 2021 reached a whopping 85% seems to imply that this law may not be properly enforced.
“It is vital that the protections available to animals mean something in practice,” the Animal Law Foundation’s Executive Director, Edie Bowles, told The Guardian. “Asking for laws to matter is not a big ask, it is simply the fulfillment of promises already made to the public when parliament enacted those laws in the first place.”
Lady Freethinker is grateful to the Animal Law Foundation and Animal Equity for conducting the extensive research needed to uncover the truth about inspections on UK farms. Despite being sentient, pigs, chickens, cows, and other farm animals in industrial agriculture are subject to living in terrible conditions. We depend on our authorities to uphold the law and protect these creatures from abuse and mistreatment, and we will continue to advocate for those who can’t speak for themselves.
Please — help prevent the cruelty that farmed animals experience by choosing delicious plant-based options — today and every day.
