Petition · past parliament
REVERSE THIS DECISION To DENY Animal Sentience in Law.
Rejected
19 signatures
What the petition asks
One of the arguments put forward by the Government during the debate was that animal sentience is covered by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. But this is not the case; the term sentience or sentient being doesn't appear once in that Act and more importantly it doesn't cover all animals.
Research shows that much like humans, animals are sentient beings and aware of their feelings and emotions. Their lives matter to them and they have the same capacity to feel joy and pleasure, as well as pain and suffering.More than 900 million farm animals are reared every year in the UK, and we’re working hard to try to improve the lives as many farm animals as possible. Much like us, farm animals are sentient beings and aware of their feelings and emotions their lives matter
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 16 Nov 2017 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 23 Nov 2017 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
19
Status
Rejected
Rejected
23 Nov 2017
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.