FINAL WORD

Our Next Government Must Prioritise Wildlife Protection

At the Horsham-based wildlife charity Born Free, we have a vision of a world where wild habitats are protected, where individual wild animals are treated with respect and compassion, and where the exploitation and suffering of wild animals is a thing of the past.

But it’s not just us who think this way. According to an extensive, independent survey of UK residents conducted by Opinion Matters in December 2022, animal welfare is an important issue for more than 93% of those polled. An overwhelming 89% of respondents think the next government should improve wildlife protection, and 88% say that it should commit to improving the welfare of animals.

Wildlife and nature are in precipitous decline, with more than a million species at risk of extinction across the globe. Here in the UK, we have lost more than half of our biodiversity since the beginning of the industrial revolution. According to the Natural History Museum, the UK has ‘led the world’ in destroying the natural environment.

While we like to think of ourselves as a nation of animal lovers, countless native and exotic wild animals continue to suffer across the country through cruel wildlife management interventions and leisure activities, in zoos and other captive situations, and even in our homes. And although some cruel practices, such as fur farming, have thankfully been banned in the UK, we continue to perpetuate the suffering of animals by allowing products of such practices to be imported from overseas.

At Born Free, we believe we have a moral imperative to protect nature and wildlife, and to ensure wild animals are treated with compassion and respect. But these aren’t just ‘nice things to do’. Protecting and restoring nature is critical if we are to limit climate change and secure essential supplies of nutritious food, water and clean air. Ensuring good animal welfare is also essential if our efforts to restore nature are to be successful, as well as preventing the potential for diseases to emerge from animals and cross over to people. Protecting nature and wild animals is imperative for our own well-being. Much has been promised by government in recent years, but thus far little has been delivered. The conservation of our native wildlife and the welfare of the wild animals we keep remains an afterthought. This has to change.

We have therefore released our UK Wildlife Conservation and Animal Welfare Manifesto, entitled, ‘Transforming Wildlife Protection in the UK’. The document identifies the transformative actions we believe are vital to help end the crisis facing our nation and the world’s wildlife. This bold, compassionate and ambitious Manifesto calls on all UK political parties and decision-makers to prioritise wildlife protection, wild animal welfare and investment in nature. It highlights the catastrophic global crisis facing wildlife and biodiversity, and the fact that, despite numerous high-profile government commitments in recent years, the UK remains one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries.

Specifically, our Manifesto calls on any future UK government to produce clear, ambitious targets and allocate the necessary resources for nature’s protection and recovery; prioritise wildlife protection across all of government and all of society; eliminate perverse funding and incentives that damage wildlife; tackle wildlife crime; improve the welfare of free living and captive wild animals; and use its influence to improve the lives of wild animals overseas.

We are calling for a reform of our outdated and fragmented wildlife legislation including: a ban on the importation of hunting trophies; an end to the use of cruel snares and traps; improvements to the way zoos are regulated including the phasing out of animals such as elephants, giraffes and polar bears that clearly cannot thrive in captivity; a strengthening of the Hunting Act to close the loopholes that currently enable hunts to continue to kill foxes and other wild animals; the protection of wild animals from the impact of the exotic pet trade; a ban on fur imports; and an end to the inhumane, ineffective and costly culling of badgers. Independent polling demonstrates that the public overwhelmingly supports these objectives, regardless of region, age or political persuasion.

Born Free is urging those across the political spectrum to make firm, transparent, accountable and costed manifesto pledges to protect and restore our natural habitats, and to introduce legislation and policies that will transform the welfare of both native and exotic wild animals.

The message is clear. From trophy hunting to the use of traps and snares, from the destruction of native flora and fauna to the keeping of wild animals in zoos and private homes, the welfare of wild animals and the protection of our natural environment have been constantly pushed down the political agenda, and the public have had enough.

For more information visit: bornfree.org.uk