THE ENFORCEMENT
PROBLEM
THIRD EDITION OF THE ENFORCEMENT PROBLEM
No improvement: Enforcement remains low and inconsistent - the legal framework protecting farmed animals is being eroded.
UNMASKING THE REALITY ON BRITISH FARMS
The UK proudly wears the badge of being a nation of animal lovers, championing some of the world's highest animal protection standards. However, our data from our third edition of The Enforcement Problem reveals a much less flattering picture for farmed animals in the UK. You can read the full report here
Across all enforcement bodies, only 2.2% of farms were inspected at least once, this is a marginal decrease from 2.53% of farms in 2023.
Our data shows a ratio of one local authority inspector for every 490 farms in 2024.
THE ENFORCEMENT PROBLEM CONTINUED
What is The Enforcement Problem?
The United Kingdom is often said to have some of the best animal welfare laws in the world, sadly, these statements fail to consider the daily reality for the majority of farmed animals in the UK.
In 2022, in partnership with Animal Equality, we published The Enforcement Problem. Our report revealed widespread and systemic under-enforcement of the legal frameworks intended to offer protection for farmed animals between the years of 2018 to 2021. You can read that report here.
In 2024, The Animal Law Foundation released a second report, which updated the data for 2022 and 2023 and sadly found no significant improvements. You can read that report here.
The Animal Law Foundation has now published its third report analysing data from across the UK in 2024 to assess how effectively animal welfare laws are being enforced in practice and whether progress has been made.
Key takeaways from 2024:
Only 2.2% of farms were inspected across the UK
Of those inspected 28.4% revealed non-compliance with welfare law
Only 2.2% of cases of non-compliance on farms result in prosecutions
Only half of all complaints about farm animal welfare in the UK result in an inspection
A Call for Accountability
There are several bodies that enforce animal law creating confusion and diffusion of responsibility.
Who is responsible for enforcement?
The regulatory framework for animal welfare is fragmented, with monitoring and enforcement responsibility split between various public bodies. Animal welfare is also a devolved matter, so each country in the UK will have different regulators and enforcement bodies. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) have overall responsibility for farmed animal welfare law and policy in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively. In practice, with the exception of DAERA, they delegate day to day enforcement of the law to local authorities and executive agencies.
Growing momentum on the lack of enforcement
The Animal Sentience Committee, a body that considers government policy decisions, published an independent report on the due regard paid to the welfare of animals in the implementation and enforcement of UK laws and regulations protecting animals. The report’s findings echo The Enforcement Problem report’s conclusions; that enforcement is overwhelmingly lacking.
The ASC’s report cited our work and also concludes that “the issues surrounding animal welfare compliance and enforcement relate to inconsistencies in detection of offences, complexity of the legislative environment, resources, lack of coordinated inter-agency response, variable enforcer training and expertise, and transparency over the effectiveness of adequate reporting and enforcement.”
In May 2025, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute published a report, titled (Tackling) Animal Harm. This report highlighted barriers to effective enforcement including legislative gaps, deficits in funding, and the high time and monetary costs of court processes. CTSI found that cost was considered by 84% of local authorities surveyed to be a barrier to taking enforcement action.
As we discuss in The Enforcement Problem report, local authorities are the main enforcement bodies for farmed animal welfare in England, Scotland, and Wales and are therefore crucial in ensuring animals are protected as set out by UK law. Ensuring that local authorities are adequately resourced is essential for them to effectively fulfil their legal obligations and prevent avoidable suffering.
In June 2025, we presented our findings in Parliament at an All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare roundtable discussion on enforcement. We highlighted the alarmingly low rates of inspections and high number of cases revealing illegal activity or prolonged suffering (70%) – yet almost none facing prosecution.
With over 1.2 billion farmed animals and inspections on fewer than 2.5% of farms, we emphasised that the UK’s animal welfare enforcement system is failing animals.
In July 2025, the House of Lords issued a scrutiny report on the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, in which they raised serious concerns about widespread non-compliance in the chicken industry, limited enforcement of existing welfare rules and lack of clarity on how future compliance will be ensured.
To find out more about the Enforcement Problem, you can find the full report here.
TAKE ACTION NOW
You can engage with your local Member of Parliament, urging them to commit to ensure the better enforcement of the laws that are in place to protect farmed animals. You can download the letter that you can either post or email to your MP.
You can also join us in calling on the UK government to recognise The Enforcement Problem via X (formerly Twitter) just click on the link below