The EU set out in the Treaty of Amsterdam, in May 1999, new ground rules for the actions of the European Union (EU) on animal welfare in a special "Protocol on the Protection and Welfare of Animals". This Treaty recognises that animals are 'sentient beings'. European Institutions must now pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals when formulating and implementing Community legislation.

The EU and Member States must now pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals, while respecting the legislative or administrative provisions and customs of the Member States relating in particular to religious rites, cultural traditions and regional heritage. Cruelty against animals, mistreatment and the use of animals in competitions remain the responsibility of national governments

New regulations and codes for pigs (The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2003) have been introduced in response to a new EU Directive.

The Land Based Colleges National Consortium have produced an online Guide 'Animal Welfare Legislation' and DEFRA explain more about the law at Farm Animal Welfare: On-farm.

The UK government is proposing a new Animal Welfare Bill. This 'robust but flexible' bill, should consolidate and simplify current legislation on the welfare of animals. The proposed new bill will maintain the present ban on cruelty and add a statutory duty to promote the welfare of all animals kept by humans. There will be powers to make regulations to ban mutilations of animals such as the docking of dogs' tails and and enable the Government more easily to keep animal welfare legislation up to date.

This is part of a wider UK strategy for animal health and welfare