The Mississippi amendment fell, but anti-choice groups are not done: they aim to alter the terms of debate on reproductive rights
Mississippi's personhood amendment, where anti-choicers tried to give fertilised eggs the same legal status as your average adult male, has thankfully failed. But while the short-term efforts to give single-cell citizens more rights than adult women may have faltered, pro-lifers aren't giving up. There will certainly be more state personhood amendments in the future, and now congressional Republicans want to take the plan national. So, despite the failure of the Mississippi bill, pro-choicers still need to be vigilant – not just about the law, but about the small cultural shifts that pro-lifers are pushing.
On 1 October Defra introduced the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) England Regulations 2018. The regulations protect the welfare of animals being bred and sold commercially, particularly puppies, as well as ensuring better standards in the wider pet industry.
With consultation on CCTV in slaughterhouses closing on 22 September, the Scottish Government has announced plans to introduce a similar consultation as part of its Government Programme for Scotland 2017/18.
The Scottish Government’s Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee has voted to allow the reintroduction of so-called tail-docking for a number of breeds of hunting dogs. The proposals will allow the removal of up to the end third of the tails of spaniels and hunt point retrievers within five days of being born if they are destined to be working dogs.
Last year, amendments to the Dangerous Dogs Act were introduced under the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act. Recently, sentencing under those amendments came into force. The new laws extend both the scope of the Act and where offences can be committed.