A Fair Deal for Animals: A Legal Pathway for Higher Animal Welfare in the Post-Brexit UK

For its detailed legislation pieces and high minimum standards, the EU has the most progressive animal welfare legal system in the world. Yet, an overwhelming number of animals in the EU are routinely subjected to practices inherently paradoxical to EU law itself. For instance, foie gras production contradicts the legal recognition of animal sentience and goal to avoid unnecessary suffering included in article 13 of the TFEU, as well as secondary law's requirements in Directive 98/58/EC, annex, paragraphs 14 and 15. This thesis takes the unprecedented momentum of Brexit as an opportunity to look closely into the strengths and weaknesses of the EU animal law. It analyses which parts of the law should be kept and which should be modified to clear up contradictions and inherent paradoxes and enable a legal paradigm that makes more justice to animals in the future UK. In addition to subjecting the EU animal welfare law in force to scrutiny, this thesis formulates a draft of policy recommendations based on the legal philosophy and international animal law literature. These suggestions include legal reforms to safeguard core legal protections and bans of certain commercial activities, whilst paying due regard for international trade rules.