Henry Lovett
Policy and Public Affairs Officer,
The Physiological Society

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.110.13

The Society informs government on the details of animal sentience and welfare concerns

In a vote on an amendment to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill at the end of last year, the government voted not to transfer the EU protocol on animal sentience into UK law. This led to some campaigners claiming that MPs had voted not to recognise animals as sentient, and in doing so reduced the protection they enjoy. However, the vote did not weaken existing UK law covering animal rights, and many MPs took to social media to defend this action and stress that no one in the House of Commons disagreed that animals display sentience.

Despite this rebuttal of the criticism, some members of the public continued to be concerned. The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove MP, released a statement saying ‘This government will ensure that any necessary changes required to UK law are made in a rigorous and comprehensive way to ensure animal sentience is recognised after we leave the EU. The Withdrawal Bill is not the right place to address this; however, we are considering the right legislative vehicle.’

A consultation has now been released on a draft Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) Bill, and The Physiological Society has made sure to put across the position of in vivo scientists. It is imperative that the new legislation is compatible with existing rules such as the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, known as ASPA. This sets the constraints scientists work within over what animals can be used in research, what procedures can be performed and the levels of harm involved.

Among our priorities at the consultation phase are to tighten the definitions in the Bill of ‘animal’ and ‘sentience’ to take into account the true scientific understanding of these terms, and not use a very broad lay definition which could, for example, lead to research on insects counting as contravening animal welfare rules and becoming prohibited.

The EU undertook a long period of research before determining its own animal research laws, and used definitions the research community support. Unless the UK government wishes to duplicate and update this effort, the pragmatic approach would therefore be to adhere to the EU conclusion: that is, ‘animal’ includes non-human vertebrates and cephalopods. We also advocate that ‘sentience’ should be recognised as more than displaying an escape reflex, but rather that a sentient creature needs to be able to determine what is pleasurable or painful and consciously make learnt choices that reflect these perceptions. This demonstrates thought, emotion and learning.

The consultation closed at the end of January, but The Society has continued to work with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on the new legislation, and the Home Office, which oversees ASPA, going forwards. We aim to ensure the development of the Bill reaches an effective and mutually agreeable conclusion.

Ministerial changes affecting science and academia

The January government reshuffle saw Sam Gyimah MP given the brief for universities and science, which continues to be split between the Departments for Education (DfE) and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). At the time of writing, his official title is listed as ‘Minister for Higher Education’, but we have not heard of any change in the Minister’s responsibilities, and Gyimah himself tweeted ‘Off to my new role as Universities & Science Minister and looking forward to the challenges ahead’. The previous incumbent, Jo Johnson MP, was moved to the position of Minister of State in the Department for Transport.

Gyimah has been identified as ‘one to watch’ in the Conservative Party for some time. He was first elected to Parliament in 2010 and was brought into the government in 2013. Previous Ministerial responsibilities have been as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Childcare and Education (2014-2016) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Probation (2016-2018), making his new role a promotion to Minister of State level.

The Secretary of State for Education has also been replaced, with Damien Hinds MP succeeding Justine Greening MP. These new personnel in charge of higher education could open the door to new changes affecting academics’ teaching and research activities.