Just 2.3 Percent of Animal Farming Welfare Breaches Prosecuted, Report Finds

A think tank is calling for more government oversight of the largely self-regulated animal farming industry, after finding that just a fraction of breaches of welfare standards resulted in prosecution. A report by the cross-party Social Market Foundation calls on the government to appoint an animal welfare commissioner to help raise standards, similar to how the Children’s Commissioner advocates for greater rights and protection for children. The UK is regarded as a world-leading nation when it comes to animal welfare standards, but the report found that thousands of cases of cruelty towards farmed animals are going unpunished. The report, entitled “Taking Responsibility,” references research by campaign organisations Animal Equality UK and the Animal Law Foundation, which found that just 2.3 percent of inspections where welfare standards were being breached led to court action against those responsible....