Thank you for contacting me about the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill.
As the highest ranked G7 nation on World Animal Protection’s Animal Protection Index, the UK is a world leader on animal welfare. In 2021, the Government's Action Plan for Animal Welfare set out reforms for this Parliament and beyond. Since then, the Government has enacted many of the reforms. This includes passing the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act, recognising the sentience of vertebrate animals and some invertebrate animals. In addition, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act introduced tougher sentences for cruelty, increasing maximum sentences. The Ivory Act came into force in 2022 and was recently extended to cover five more endangered species. In April, the Government made cat microchipping compulsory.
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