Sheffield reacts with anger as Rishi Sunak’s government dropped a proposed ban on importing fur and foie gras earlier this week.
Annabel Wroath, a member of The University of Sheffield’s Conservation Society, said: “we are meant to be leading in climate change and other important issues so why are we now going back on important things and going back on animal rights that will have a knock-on effect.”
Miss Wroath said allowing imports of fur is a gateway to allowing other dangerous threats to conservation like ivory and “we do not need to be supporting the extinction of these animals”.
Banning fur and foie gras imports was part of the Animals Abroad Bill introduced under Boris Johnson. However, ministers ditched the bill after they deemed it “un-conservative”.
The Biology student at The University of Sheffield described the situation as “frustrating” and accused the government of “emphasising the wrong thing when the focus should be on protecting biodiversity and wildlife rather than maintaining loyalty to a party”.
While fur farming and the production of foie gras – a paté made from the livers of force-fed ducks or geese – are currently illegal in the UK, campaigners say large quantities of both commodities continue to enter the country each year.
Dr Dan Lyons, the chief executive officer of the Centre for Animals and Social Justice, said: “Obviously the situation is deeply disappointing and not entirely surprising, it’s a symptom of the fact the British government as a whole puts very little weight on animal protection and is internally callous about animal production.”
There is no department in the British government that protects animals from cruelty. Dr Lyons pointed out that animals don’t have a voice to speak against this “sadistic cruelty” so “it’s time for humans to speak out”.
Dr Lyons said that British people as a whole and Sheffield residents seem to care deeply about animals so it’s up to the government to “hear the problem, change the structure and incorporate this into policy”.
The Centre for Animals and Social Justice (CASJ) is a British charity founded in 2011. The Centre’s work is based on Dr Lyons’ award-winning research into the politics of animal protection which reveals that animal advocacy in the UK is limited by the government structure.
Environment secretary, Therese Coffey, has said that animal welfare is important, the government must “think through priorities” with limited time to push through legislation.
