End of Year News Round-up

2021 has been a very busy and exciting year! It has flown by and it’s easy to lose track, so we’ve decided to put together a summary of what happened.

Political: Changing law

• The official government-commissioned report was released, confirming that decapod crustaceans (e.g. crabs, lobsters, prawns) are sentient and feel pain.

• The Government tabled an amendment to include decapods in the Sentience Bill

• The Sentience Bill had its Report Stage on the 6th December, and the government amendment to include decapods was approved, officially adding them to the Bill!

• Numerous Parliamentary Questions were asked about the welfare of decapods, highlighting an increase in interest and awareness.

Actions: Supporters making change

• Our petition now has almost 58,000 signatures!

• Over 4,000 letters were sent to MPs asking for them to support legal protection of decapods.

• Over 300 selfies for our #SelfiesforSentience campaign.

• Over 1,500 members of the public wrote to Amazon, calling for them to stop selling live lobsters online. You can still write yourself using our pre-written letter.

Coalitions & Support: Making change together

• We worked as part of the Better Deal for Animals coalition, and linked up with 50 other animal welfare organisations to #ActNowForAnimals, releasing our ‘No Animals Left Behind’ animal welfare strategy

• We joined Eurogroup for Animals, and helped draft a briefing paper on ‘Decapod Crustaceans and Cephalopod Molluscs in EU Animal Welfare Legislation’

• We joined the Aquatic Life Institute’s Aquatic Animal Alliance

• We had strong support from major animal welfare organisations, veterinary experts such as Sean Wensley and Pete Wedderburn, business expert Deborah Meaden, and naturalists and TV presenters Michaela Strachan and Chris Packham

• The Crab Museum opened in Margate, with an exhibition dedicated to Crustacean Compassion

• We co-signed a COP26 statement regarding the impact of climate change on food & animal agriculture

Events, Talks & Conferences: Change through learning

• We celebrated International Women’s Day and all the women who are dedicated to improving the lives of animals

• We spoke at OneKind’s Webinars for Welfare

• We were part of an expert panel at the Animal Welfare Research Network’s workshop on engaging with stakeholders to influence animal welfare law

• We went to Westminster for the Sentience Bill Committee Stage in the House of Lords

• We recorded podcasts for the UK Centre for Animal Law and Off the Leash

• We wrote blogs for British Veterinary Association and the UK Centre for Animal Law

• We spoke at the Aquatic Life Institute’s Aquatic Life Conference on the topic of UK policy

Organisational: Changes to the CC team

• The Crustacean Compassion team is expanding! We recently gained a new Senior Policy and Public Affairs Advisor, and are currently recruiting for a Corporate Engagement Advisor to join our team too

With all of this in 2021, we’re excited for 2022!