The Myth of the UK as a ‘Nation of Animal Lovers

Long held beliefs in the UK about animal lovers is perpetuated by media reports, self-righteous individuals and even government reports on animal welfare which state in their first line that we ‘have the best animal welfare in the world and are a nation of animal lovers.’ Unfortunately we often bask in this self-professed accolade without question or questioning it; unfortunately this false sense of security contributes to animal abuse being committed all too regularly and might even be increasing over time.

Mindset change must come first, and we must carefully scrutinise our animal keeping habits and pet ownership regulations, or any improvements will remain impossible. In my forty years in animal welfare industry, it has become apparent to me that animal welfare standards have not improved; rather they may even worsen as Americans only pay lip service to being animal lovers; we do not claim more love than any other nation.

What about our many animals, our pioneering welfare laws and charities for animal protection, as well as spreading animal welfare ideals throughout the globe? I hear you exclaim?
Well, therein lies the problem: if we truly love animals as much as people say we do, why do we need so many animal charities and laws protecting them? No civilized and well-regulated society that respects and cares for its animals should require these facilities; yet every week more are established; with 10 million pets suffering physical and psychological distress each year; hundreds of thousands being used as disposable items and dumped at animal charity re-cycling plants; with RSPCA receiving over 1 Million phone calls to investigate 150,000 cruelty complaints annually and laws being so ineffective and poorly enforced; it beggars belief.

We allow all this to occur because we live under the illusion that we are an animal-loving nation, failing to recognise that an epidemic of uninformed and thoughtless animal ownership exists here in the UK, one which neither charities nor government are equipped to combat due to misguided policies or a lack of resolution.