Petition · past parliament
'Animal Sentience' must be included in the EU Withdrawal Bill
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
Under EU law, animals are currently recognised as being capable of feeling pain and emotion. But MPs have voted to drop the inclusion of animal sentience into the Withdrawal Bill.
The term Sentience or Sentient Being doesn't appear once in that Act, and the Act doesn't cover all animals.
The term Sentience or Sentient Being doesn't appear once in that Act, and the Act doesn't cover all animals.
RSPCA Head of Public Affairs David Bowles said it's a "truly backward step" for animal welfare and explains;
“It’s shocking that MPs have given the thumbs down to including animal sentience in post-Brexit UK law.
Animal sentience is not mentioned in the Animal Welfare Act and, crucially, only domestic animals are covered by the provisions of the Act.
Wild animals and those in laboratories are expressly exempt!
It's simply wrong for the Government to claim the Act protects animal sentience."
“It’s shocking that MPs have given the thumbs down to including animal sentience in post-Brexit UK law.
Animal sentience is not mentioned in the Animal Welfare Act and, crucially, only domestic animals are covered by the provisions of the Act.
Wild animals and those in laboratories are expressly exempt!
It's simply wrong for the Government to claim the Act protects animal sentience."
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 19 Nov 2017 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 23 Nov 2017 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
23 Nov 2017
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.