This week Dame Rebecca attended an event for the inaugural Award for Excellence in Animal Welfare and Environmental Protection, presented to the highly esteemed British politician, peer and lifelong environmentalist, The Rt Hon. the Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park.
The occasion marked Lord Goldsmith’s relentless and vocal advocacy in animal welfare and his support in spearheading an unprecedented major United Nations initiative.
The presentation, which took place at a reception in Westminster was well attended by current and former cross-party MPs and Peers and was supported by the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation.
Previous Conservative Government's have sought to uphold values of animal welfare. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act, 2022, means animals are now recognised as sentient being in UK law. The Act also created an Animal Sentience Committee has been devised to ensure cross departmental government policy considers the impact of any new policy on animal welfare.
The Ivory Act came into force in full in June 2022. It means the sale of ivory of any age is banned, with narrowly defined and carefully-targeted exemptions for items which do not contribute to the poaching of elements. Through covering ivory items of all ages, the UK’s is one of the toughest in the world.
Following a commitment by the Conservative Government in December 2017 to crack down on cruel puppy farms and their conditions, the Government introduced legislation to tackle the low-welfare, high volume supply of puppies and kittens, by banning their commercial third-party sale in England.
Microchipping for dogs became compulsory for animals over eight weeks of age across England, Scotland and Wales in 2016. One year after the Government introduced this policy, the Dogs Trust reported a reduction of 18 per cent in the total stray dog population. In 2016, UK local authorities collected 81,000 strays, while in 2020 this fell to 50,000.
As a Patron of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, Dame Rebecca has always supported the work of fellow Conservatives and across the House that has sought to strengthen the protections of animals.
Rebecca presented the Pets (Microchips) Bill in the House of Commons in October 2024. The Bill proposed that no healthy or treatable pet can be euthanised by a vet without having its microchip scanned first. It also proposed that no pet can be put to sleep without the permission of its registered owner and that all other options of rehousing a healthy or treatable pet have to be exhausted before euthanasia is considered.
After the event, Lord Goldsmith said he was “humbled” to receive the award, adding that the milestone UN resolution was the result of “strong, positive pressure” from colleagues across civil society and government. He concluded: “there’s nothing more repugnant than our abuse of animals. There’s nothing more important than our relationship with animals and nature.”
