Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that future policy decisions relating to animal welfare are evidence-based.

Defra applies an evidence-based approach to policy decision-making which makes use of several sources. These include:

• externally commissioned research;
• collaboration with academia and other research organisations;
• internal evidence gathering by scientists, veterinarians, social researchers, economists, statisticians and operational researchers;
• expert committees including the Animal Welfare Committee and the Zoos Expert Committee;
• views provided by the Animal Health and Welfare Board for England;
• information and evidence provided by or obtained from other sources including non-governmental organisations, industry bodies and other stakeholders;
• information and evidence provided by or obtained from other government bodies, including the Devolved Administrations.

This year Defra’s research and innovation interests were published, setting out the high-level research aims for Defra policies including with reference to animal welfare. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defra-group-research-and-innovation-interests-2021/defra-group-research-and-innovation-interests

The Animal Sentience Bill currently before Parliament also provides for a new animal sentience committee to issue reports on how well future central government policy decisions pay all due regard to the welfare needs of animals.