Close loophole allowing licensed dog breeders to broker pregnant bitches
Current Signatures: 14,262
Estimated Final Signatures: 37,199 (c. 177 added daily)
Licensed breeders can rotate their breeding bitches, buying in pregnant bitches swapping them for whelped. Breeders can stay within their license at any one time and always have pregnant and whelping bitches, increasing litters dealt with and sold by 5 times the number of dogs on their license.
Ban the exploitative import of young puppies for sale in the UK.
Current Signatures: 119,763
Estimated Final Signatures: 221,468 (c. 1,110 added daily)
Plenty of dogs from UK breeders & rescues need homes. Transporting young pups long distances is often stressful, before being sold for ridiculous prices to unsuspecting dog-lovers. Government must adjust current laws, ban this unethical activity on welfare grounds & protect these poor animals ASAP.
Stop culling immediately and start widespread vaccination of badgers now
Current Signatures: 33,211
Estimated Final Signatures: 40,548 (c. 181 added daily)
Public opinion opposes culling. It is time to cease badger culling in favour of vaccination. With applications for 18 new cull zones this year, and costs rising, this is not a 'phase out' of the failed badger cull policy. In 2019 there were 46 cull zones aiming to kill 64,000 badgers.
Ban the sale of artificial grass
Final Signatures: 11,667The sale of artificial grass should be banned in the UK for environmental reasons. It is environmentally irresponsible to allow garden space occupied by grass and other plant life (which processes CO2 and supports wildlife) to be replaced by plastic which does not biodegrade.
Stop Forestry England granting licenses for Fox & Hare hunts
Final Signatures: 11,949For the most recent hunting season, Forestry England gave hunting licences for 34 fox & hare “trail hunts”. Despite the hunting of wild mammals with dogs being illegal, two of the licensed trail hunts have received, or been associated with, convictions under the Hunting and Animal Welfare Acts.
Replace Breed Specific Legislation with a new statutory framework
Final Signatures: 118,638Breed Specific Legislation fails to achieve what Parliament intended, to protect the public. It focuses on specific breeds, which fails to appreciate a dog is not aggressive purely on the basis of its breed. It allows seizure of other breeds, but the rules are not applied homogeneously by councils.
The UK should ban the importation of Shark Fins.
Final Signatures: 115,380Now that we have left the EU, the UK has the ability to finally stop the importation of Shark Fins. They had previously stated that 'Whilst in the EU, it is not possible to unilaterally ban the import of shark fins into the UK.'
Revise the NPPF to include the protection of all and particularly old hedgerows.
Final Signatures: 11,792The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) guides local authorities in relation to planning decisions. The NPPF has a glaring omission; the word ‘hedge’ does not exist anywhere in the document, and consequently hedges are the first casualty of greenfield site or 'garden grabbing' developments.
Support British Food Producers by ensuring that marks of origin remain
Final Signatures: 14,142Make sure that it is possible for British consumers to identify and buy food grown and raised in this country
Grant cats the same status under the Road Traffic Act 1988 as dogs
Final Signatures: 25,129Grant cats the same status under the Road Traffic Act 1988 as dogs and other animals, whereby it becomes law to report any accident to the Police and grant the Police powers to prosecute motorists who fail to report or stop at the scene of an accident.
Ban non-stun slaughter in the UK.
Final Signatures: 20,853Under UK law, all farmed animals have to be stunned to render them unconscious before their throats are cut. However halal or kosher meat are exempt. We believe that on animal cruelty grounds, that this exemption should be removed.
Make Hedgehogs a Protected Species
Final Signatures: 56,087We, the undersigned, call on the government to make hedgehogs an officially protected species and to limit activities which may disturb, degrade or destroy their habitats.
Make pet theft crime a specific offence with custodial sentences.
Final Signatures: 143,633Pet Theft Reform 2020: Revise the sentencing guidelines in the Theft Act 1968 to reclassify pet theft as a specific crime. Ensure that monetary value is irrelevant for the categorisation of dog and cat theft crime for sentencing purposes. Recognise pet theft as a category 2 offence or above.
Legal rights for ancient trees
Final Signatures: 17,011All ancient trees (over 100 years of age) to have the legal right not to be damaged or felled, with the exception of sustainable forestry to produce wood and maintaining the tree’s health. This would effectively make tree preservation orders (TPOs) national.
Vets to scan prior to euthanasia for Rescue Back up and confirm keeper details
Final Signatures: 121,162A healthy young dog with RBU was euthanised. The person who requested euthanasia was not the registered keeper.
Fern’s Law: Compulsory to scan & check microchips to reunite stolen dogs, cats.
Final Signatures: 112,224Many missing microchipped pets are never reunited as it’s optional to scan & check microchip registration. It’s time veterinary professionals, authorities and rescues checked pet & keeper match on the original database at a pets 1st consultation or yearly checkup. It’s their only chance to get home
Ban super trawlers from fishing in UK waters.
Final Signatures: 25,614Margiris, the second largest trawler in the world, was spotted off the coast of the Isle of Wight at the end of September.
The UK Government should work internationally to ban these trawlers and remove them from UK waters.
Halt the badger cull & investigate alternative, humane options for bTB control.
Final Signatures: 12,713Despite scientific evidence that the badger cull may actually be INCREASING instances of bovine tuberculosis, the government has announced a geographical extension of the cull in autumn 2019. Please listen to the scientists, stop the cull & adopt alternative humane options to culling.
Make vet best practice measures mandatory & honour dual microchip registration.
Final Signatures: 12,234A young rescue dog had full rescue back up but despite this he was euthanised by an individual who was not registered on his microchip, which did have back up contact details. We request changes that acknowledge that had his microchip been scanned he would have been returned to his back up rescue.
Ban Driven Grouse Shooting
Wilful blindness is no longer an option
Chris Packham, Ruth Tingay and Mark Avery (Wild Justice) believe that intensive grouse shooting is bad for people, the environment and wildlife. People; grouse shooting is economically insignificant when contrasted with other real and potential uses of the UK’s uplands.
Repeal the archaic Weeds Act 1959 to benefit pollinators and wider biodiversity.
Final Signatures: 11,879This Act drives destruction of native wildflower species so essential to the survival of pollinators & other wildlife. Plants targeted by the Act include common & creeping thistle - both rich sources of nectar, ragwort with its 177 pollinators & dock an important food plant for many insects.
Make ECOCIDE a UK criminal offence
Final Signatures: 21,986Climate agreements and civil laws have failed to prevent escalating harm to the Earth. A criminal law of ECOCIDE would criminalise practices known to destroy ecosystems and/or exacerbate climate breakdown. It's the only way to force industry to change direction.
Ban peat compost.
Final Signatures: 12,928Peat is vital in the fight against climate breakdown as it stores vast amounts of carbon. It also provides habitat for a diverse range of wildlife. Therefore we should not be using peat compost to improve the soil in our gardens. Other organic matter is available and is effective for growers.
Ban non-stun slaughter. Animal welfare must take priority over faith tradition.
Final Signatures: 14,021Non-stun slaughter is cruel. Many consumers do not want to eat meat killed by non-stun slaughter. On leaving the EU, specific UK legislation must replace the EU slaughter directive, explicitly precluding the religious exemption from pre-stunning requirement. Stun to kill must be mandatory.
Increase the penalty for developers and landowners who remove trees illegally.
Final Signatures: 10,854It is too easy for a developer to illegally remove trees including, but not only, trees with TPOs and receive a small fine which in no way reflects the value of trees or the profit the developer can gain. We want the financial penalty increased and severe restrictions placed on the lands future use.