EU PROTOCOL ON ANIMAL SENTIENCE

That this House welcomes the Written Statement of 23 November 2017 by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that the Government's policies on animal protection are driven by a recognition that animals are sentient beings; notes that Article 13 of the Lisbon Treaty imposes a substantial obligation on EU institutions and the Governments of member states to pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals when formulating and implementing law and policy, since animals are sentient beings; further notes that the Secretary of State gave a commitment to the House on 20 July 2017 that Article 13 of the Lisbon Treaty would be converted into UK law by the EU (Withdrawal) Bill; and calls on the Government to act upon this commitment by tabling an appropriate amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill at the earliest possible opportunity.