 | |
| Abbreviation | CAWF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2016; 9 years ago (2016) |
| Founders | Lorraine Platt and Chris Platt |
| Purpose | Animal welfare |
| Headquarters | Third Floor, 207Regent Street,London, United Kingdom |
| Website | www |
TheConservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF) is an influentialanimal welfare organisation in the United Kingdom.[1][2] According toThe Daily Telegraph, "it is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the Tory Party."[3]
Its patrons have includedConservative Party politicians such asDavid Amess,Zac Goldsmith,Carrie Johnson,Stanley Johnson,Dominic Raab,Henry Smith, andTheresa Villiers.[1][3][4][5] It organised aWorld Animal Day event at the 2021Conservative Party Conference.[6][7]
The organisation was founded in 2016 by Lorraine Platt and her husband Chris Platt fromSurrey.[1][3][8] A lifelong Conservative, Lorraine Platt decided to start the CAWF when she and her husband were campaigning in their constituency ofEsher and Walton, and some residents said that they would not vote for the Conservative Party because local MPIan Taylor supportedfox hunting.[3] Platt wanted to counter the perception that conservatives don't care about animals and to give voice to a conservative pro-animal-welfare perspective inParliament.[3] Though the CAWF began as just a website, it has grown with support from MPs and has had an impact on bills in Parliament.[3]
However, support for the organisation within the Conservative Party has not been universal:Patrick McLoughlin wrote a letter asking the CAWF to stop using the Conservative Party logo.[3][9] A Conservative Party spokesperson said that the organisation was not affiliated with the party, but CAWF patron Suzy Gale, wife of Conservative MPRoger Gale, said that the organisation and the party did have ties. Lorraine Platt said that the organisation was "voluntarily redesigning its logo".[9]
The organisation lobbies Parliament to improve animal welfare protections. Its areas of focus have expanded from fox hunting to a variety of other issues such aslive exports,gestation crates, andcage-free eggs.[3][10] Other concerns includefoie gras andtrophy hunting.[3]
In 2021, the CAWF argued that theAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill should includeinvertebrates such aslobsters andoctopuses. The CAWF published a report estimating the quantity of invertebrates killed by UK fishing boats. The report said that discussions about animal welfare often fail to take into account invertebrates'sentience because of an "anthropocentric view [that] fails to capture what it means for an animal to be sentient".[2][11] Lorraine Platt described octopuses as "highly intelligent, sentient animals" and said that the foundation hoped that people would choose not to eat them.[12]
The organisation has also supported reforms for more humaneslaughter. Along with theBritish Veterinary Association, it has argued for "an end to slaughter without stunning",[5] and it published a report finding that the UK supply of meat from animals killed without stunning is greater than demanded by consumers.[13] The CAWF has also argued that legal protections forfarmed animals should apply tofarmed fish, and it has worked to makefish slaughter more humane.[14]
