The Green Party will begin a week long campaign on Monday (11 April) to highlight the benefits continued EU membership will have for animal welfare in the UK.

The campaign comes after the Green Party last month allied itself with ‘Another Europe is Possible’, a “progressive” group campaigning for voters to choose to remain part of Europe at the EU referendum in June. The campaign, which differs from the official Britain Stronger in Europe Campaign, aims to promote democracy, human rights, environmental protection and social justice, both in the build up to and after the referendum.

Greens are highlighting the role the EU has played in improving animal welfare, and warning that a vote to leave the EU could “have a profound impact on the welfare of farm and research animals.”

Keith Taylor, MEP for the South East and the Green Party’s spokesperson on animals, said "On animal welfare, a cause I am deeply committed to, we have achieved many unquestionably positive things together in Europe; the EU has improved conditions for animals where national governments have failed to act, and its influence is felt beyond European borders.”

Taylor said on Monday that, amongst other improvements, the EU has improved welfare standards for farm animals and strengthened wildlife protection and cracked down. However, the Greens have acknowledged improvements that the UK government introduced ahead of the EU as a whole, including sow stalls in 1999 (14 years ahead of the EU) and veal crates in 1990 (17 years before an EU-wide ban).

The Green Party spokesperson said, “It was the EU that first recognised animals as sentient beings: the EU Lisbon Treaty stipulates that, as sentient beings, full regard should be paid to animals' welfare requirements. EU animal protection laws are frequently stronger than those applied in other parts of the world and while there is a desperate need to campaign for better standards, it is also worth remembering how much has been achieved.  

“While our own government is continuing to vigorously weaken these important safeguards - the UK government has already tried to weaken laws on laboratory animals - it’s our shared laws which are working effectively to protect the wildlife and nature that we hold so dear.

“Therefore, I believe that it is only by keeping our seat at the EU table that the UK can have a say. We all know the EU isn't perfect, but let us celebrate the achievements we have made to protect our lives, our country, and our animals, and continue working together on the shared challenges we face.”