DEEP DIVE: Britain’s exit from the European Union presented both threats and promises to animal justice in the UK. But since coming into effect in 2020, what - if anything - has actually changed? Devon Docherty writes.

NEWS: In a move that has baffled most of the UK’s ruling Conservative Party, inside sources have revealed that a “handful of very wealthy peers” have managed to can new legislation that would have banned the import of hunting trophies.

The UK government is on the verge of backtracking on its proposal to ban imports of fur and foie gras, driven by the will of Jacob Rees Mogg and other Tory cronies. Claire Hamlett reports.

REPORT: Britain’s pig farm crisis is getting worse, driven by the perfect storm of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, the industry is proposing new ways to slaughter pigs on farms and launching desperate attempts to lure back migrant workers. Claire Hamlett updates us on the current situation.

NEWS: A farmer in Yorkshire, UK, has killed hundreds of piglets because slaughterhouses aren’t killing adults fast enough due to worker shortages, while other reports warn that 120,000 pigs could be culled to avoid an “acute welfare disaster”.

News emerged this week of a desperate plan being concocted by the UK meat industry to address its labour crisis by employing prisoners via work release schemes. They say it’s the result of the combined effect of Brexit and Covid, but all it confirms is that only people with no other options would choose to butcher animals.

This Friday, May 28th, a new touring installation will launch in Cardiff to get the UK talking about eating meat and its impacts on health and the environment. A new exhibition on the same issue will launch simultaneously at Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History.

In yet another sign that the UK dairy industry is in serious trouble, new figures out this week have revealed a staggering drop in sales of milk and cream to the EU, by far our largest export market. Is this really just teething troubles, as Boris Johnson calls them, or is it another nail in the coffin of cow exploitation?

Last week, news emerged of a pig who after escaping during the journey to the slaughterhouse is now to be allowed to live out his natural life with his original ‘owners’. We take a look at the story in more depth and what it reveals about our conflicting attitudes towards non-humans.

Make no mistake, foie gras is barbaric and like any food where animals are exploited, should not be on our menus. The news that the UK is moving closer to a ban on its import, bolstering the ban on its domestic production, is wonderful, but it does somewhat highlight certain hypocrisies.

Since Brexit finally came to pass, there’s been uncertainty within the UK plant-based movement about whether it’s worth engaging with vegan, environmental, and animal-welfare issues in Europe. The plant-based dairy censorship petition is a great example of why EU issues still matter.

Cows without horns and pigs without testicles could just be the start of what scientists could be permitted to create, should regulations concerning gene editing be relaxed following a Defra consultation currently underway. We unravel the science, the ideas coming from other parts of the world, and of course the ethical and moral implications.