Abstract
Simple SummaryThe British people voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the European Union and the United Kingdom (UK) is set to leave the EU in 2019. Brexit is a major political change and it presents both threats and opportunities for animal protection. This paper assesses the threats that Brexit poses to animal protection in terms of five criteria. These are first, the political situation; second, regulatory changes; third, economic and trade factors; fourth, institutional considerations; and fifth, EU and international impacts. The EU has the most progressive animal welfare laws in the world. The UK Conservative Government, which is delivering Brexit, has a mixed record on animal protection. Brexit is forecast to have a negative impact on the UK economy, which is likely to negatively affect animal welfare. A major threat of Brexit is the import of meat and dairy products to the UK raised in lower welfare standards from nations such as the United States (US). The development of Brexit policy suggests there is a significant risk that this threat will materialise. Furthermore, Brexit will result in a reduced political lobby within the EU for progressive animal protection reform. Despite the UK being a progressive animal protection nation, she will have less power to exert this influence to improve animal welfare outside of the EU. Brexit poses substantial risks to weaken animal protection in the UK, EU and internationally. Further research is needed to assess the opportunities presented by Brexit to judge whether Brexit will be overall positive or negative for animal protection.The British people voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the European Union (EU). Brexit presents both threats and opportunities to animal protection in the United Kingdom (UK), EU and internationally. This paper discusses threats to animal protection in terms of five criteria. These are first, political context; second, regulatory changes; third, economic and trade factors; fourth, institutional and capacity-related factors; and fifth, EU and international considerations. The EU has the most progressive animal welfare laws in the world. The Conservative Government delivering Brexit has a mixed record on animal protection. Major time and resource constraints inherent in Brexit risk negatively impacting animal protection. Brexit is projected to have a negative economic impact, which is generally associated with lower animal welfare standards. The development of Brexit policy suggests there to be a substantial risk that the major threat of importing lower welfare products to the UK will materialise. Brexit will reduce the political influence of the progressive animal protection lobby in the EU. Post-Brexit, the politically and economically weakened EU and UK risks a detrimental impact on animal protection on an international scale. Brexit poses substantial threats to animal protection, with a high risk that many threats will materialise. Further research is needed to assess the opportunities presented by Brexit to judge whether Brexit will be overall positive or negative for animal protection.
Highlights
The British people voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the European Union (EU)
Despite the major concerns raised by Stevenson and many published Brexit and animal protection reports about the importance of maintaining animal welfare standards in trade deals, the impact on farmed animals in the Department for International Trade (DIT) documents is notable by its absence
The United Kingdom (UK) has been a member of the EU since 1993 and before that a member of the European Communities (EC) since 1973
Summary
The British people voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the European Union (EU). The United. Both of these options would mean that the UK Government would have to ask the EU to extend Article 50 and to provide the necessary time to implement Brexit. Given this series of votes, there are several potential scenarios These include a further vote on the Prime Minister’s deal, renegotiation with the EU, a general election, a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister, a second referendum on EU membership, or revoking Article 50 and abandoning Brexit altogether [20]. Brexit represents a huge political change for UK governance and the reports describe the various threats and opportunities that Brexit poses They provide an indispensible resource on the potential impacts of Brexit on animal welfare. The second part of the paper assesses the threats that Brexit poses to animal protection
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