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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent

UK failing animals with just one welfare inspector for every 878 farms – report

Pigs in a farm
When inspections did take place, 22% of farms were found to be non-compliant but only 1% of those were prosecuted, according to the report. Photograph: National Farmers Union/Alamy

There is just one local authority inspector for every 878 farms in England, Scotland and Wales, according to a report, which says that the current welfare system is continuing to fail animals.

Researchers for the Animal Law Foundation found that only 2.5% of the more than 300,000 UK farms were inspected at least once in 2022 and 2023, a marginal decrease from 2018-21 when Covid-19 might be expected to have affected inspection rates.

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