Urge Election Candidates to Crack Down on Cruelty to Animals!

Rishi Sunak has called a general election for 4 July 2024. This election will impact the lives of billions of sentient beings for years to come. That’s why we’re calling on UK election candidates to make pledges on 10 key issues to help ensure a kinder future for animals. Help us by urging your local candidates to support these pledges.

Whether it’s inside laboratories or on factory farms, city streets, or country lanes, animals across the UK face enormous cruelty. But together, we can #CrackDownOnCruelty and make sure animals aren’t forgotten on the campaign trail or at the ballot box.

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Crack Down on Cruelty

Below are the 10 key issues PETA and more than 20 other UK animal protection groups are calling for candidates to support:

Animal Protection Commissioner
Appoint a commissioner and establish a cross-government animal protection strategy to benefit humans, the planet, and animals.
Trade
Ban trading in cruelty, including imports of fur, foie gras, and hunting trophies.
Intensive Farming
Implement subsidies to support farmers in transitioning away from animal farming – including the use of cages and crates – and towards plant-based food production that is healthier, kinder, and more sustainable.
Wildlife
Introduce stronger protections, including a complete UK ban on snares and glue traps, updated laws to protect marine animals, tighter legislations on zoos and the trading and keeping of exotic animals, and extended maximum sentences for wildlife offences.
Animal Testing
Install a government-led roadmap with an ambitious plan to end all experiments on animals alongside strategic funding to accelerate the uptake and development of non-animal methods in research and testing.
Hunting
Strengthen the Hunting Act 2004 by banning trail hunting and removing exemptions that enable other forms of hunting.
Badger Cull
End the ineffective and unscientific badger cull and invest in an effective bovine tuberculosis plan that prioritises animal welfare.
Aquatic Animals
Increase legal protections for fish in existing farms and suspend permissions for the construction of new salmon farms pending an independent welfare inquiry into the problems of the industry. Add decapod crustaceans and cephalopods to the Animal Welfare Act, and end sales of live crustaceans to the public.
Shooting
Ban the cruel and environmentally harmful industrial production and release of pheasants and partridges for shooting.
Dogs
Introduce stronger laws to stop puppy smuggling.

Animals Need You

Together, we can make sure animals aren’t forgotten on the campaign trail or at the ballot box. Showing your local candidates that you want to know where they stand on key animal protection issues can help make sure they represent the interests of animals and yourself.

View Message +

Dear {contact_data~title} {contact_data~firstName} {contact_data~lastName}:

I’m writing as a voter in your constituency to ask that you support the “Crack Down on Cruelty” campaign and pledge to help animals if you are elected.

I support People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which, along with other leading animal protection organisations across the country, is calling on candidates in the upcoming general election to make pledges on 10 key animal protection issues:

1.	Animal Protection Commissioner 
Appoint a commissioner and establish a cross-government animal protection strategy to benefit people, the planet, and animals.
2.	Trade
Ban trading in cruelty, including imports of fur, foie gras, and hunting trophies.
3.	Intensive Farming
Implement subsidies to support farmers in transitioning away from animal farming – including the use of cages and crates – and towards plant-based food production that is healthier, kinder, and more sustainable.
4.	Wildlife
Introduce stronger protections, including a complete UK ban on snares and glue traps, updated laws to protect marine animals, tighter legislations on zoos and the trading and keeping of exotic animals, and extended maximum sentences for wildlife offences. 
5.	Animal Testing 
Install a government-led roadmap with an ambitious plan to end all experiments on animals alongside strategic funding to accelerate the uptake and development of non-animal methods in research and testing.
6.	Hunting
Strengthen the Hunting Act 2004 by banning trail hunting and removing exemptions that enable other forms of hunting.
7.	Badger Cull
End the ineffective and unscientific badger cull and invest in an effective bovine tuberculosis plan that prioritises animal welfare.
8.	Aquatic Animals
Increase legal protections for fish in existing farms and suspend permissions for the construction of new salmon farms pending an independent welfare inquiry into the problems of the industry. Add decapod crustaceans and cephalopods to the Animal Welfare Act, and end sales of live crustaceans to the public.
9.	Shooting
Ban the cruel and environmentally harmful industrial production and release of pheasants and partridges for shooting.
10.	Dogs
Introduce stronger laws to stop puppy smuggling.

You should have received a short online survey from iain@votesforanimals.org.uk requesting your position on each of these issues. Please respond to the survey if you have not already and confirm whether you support each of the 10 pledges and if you will commit to cracking down on cruelty and speaking up for animals in Parliament if you are elected. Responses will be displayed at www.votesforanimals.org.uk.

Taking action on these issues is extremely important to me and millions of other voters. Recent polls show that more than two-thirds of the British public feel that a political party with plans to “pass more laws designed to improve animal welfare and protect animals from cruelty” would have commendable priorities.

A new report by academics from the University of Winchester and Cardiff University also found that “in Britain, there is a consistent supermajority level of support for progressive animal welfare policies”. The report highlights how supporting animal protection policies could make a big difference for parties and candidates in this election.

People in the UK care about animals. I hope you will recognise that animals matter in this election and pledge to protect them.

Thank you for your time on this matter.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}
{user_data~Address 1}
{user_data~City}
{user_data~Postcode}
{user_data~Email Address}

Take Action

Politicians need to know that animals matter in this election. Ask your local candidates to pledge to crack down on cruelty and speak up for animals if elected.

Please note that you must have a UK address to complete this action.

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Urge Election Candidates to Crack Down on Cruelty to Animals!

Crack Down on Cruelty

Animals Need You

Take Action

Thank You for Messaging Your Local Candidates