Animal welfare is one of the top concerns people across our constituency get in touch with me about, and I share that concern deeply. No one wants to see animals suffer unnecessarily.
The Government’s much anticipated Animal Welfare Strategy was published in December 2025. Initially announced in 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders to set out this comprehensive programme of reforms to deliver for millions of animals across England, whether they’re pets, on a farm or in the wild.
The strategy includes plans to move away from confinement systems such as colony cages for laying hens and pig farrowing crates, giving animals greater freedom. This comes alongside bans on puppy farming and on live boiling of lobsters, issues that I know so many animal lovers across Selby and Kippax feel passionate about. I have been proud to make constituents’ concerns on animal welfare issues heard in Parliament and I’m so pleased that the Government have listened.
The strategy’s reforms also deliver on a number of our manifesto promises, including banning the use of snare traps on wild animals and introducing a close season for hares during breeding, which will protect vulnerable leverets born above ground. The Government has also committed to banning trail hunting, with a consultation launching shortly on how to deliver an effective ban.
The Government is also committed to phasing out animal testing as soon as possible. Our animal testing strategy has a number of clear goals - it includes an end to regulatory testing on animals to assess the potential for new treatments to cause skin and eye irritation and skin sensitisation by the end of 2026. By 2027 researchers are expected to end tests of the strength of botox on mice and to use only DNA-based lab methods for adventitious agent testing of human medicines – the process for detecting viruses or bacteria that might accidentally contaminate medicines. By 2030 it will also reduce pharmacokinetic studies – which track how a drug moves through the body over time – on dogs and non-human primates.
The strategy recognises that phasing out the use of animals in science can only happen where reliable and effective alternative methods, with the same level of safety for human exposure, can replace them. By working in tandem with partners, backing researchers with new funding and streamlining regulation, the plan will enable teams to pivot safely to methods like:
- Organ-on-a-chip systems – tiny devices that mimic how human organs work using real human cells
- Greater use of AI to analyse huge amounts of information about molecules to predict whether new medicines will be safe and work well on humans
- 3D bio printed tissues, which could create realistic human tissue samples, from skin to liver, for testing – providing lifelike environments for studying human biology and checking if substances are toxic
I hope you share my feeling that this is hugely welcome progress on a number of issues that animal rights advocates in our constituency and beyond have long been fighting for. The time and engagement on this from local residents is invaluable and makes all the difference.
I look forward to following the Government’s continued work with charities, farmers, vets, and industry to ensure these reforms are practical and deliverable, and that farmers are given enough time to adapt.