Puppy farms, snares and trail hunting to be banned in plans to improve animal welfare

New laws to be implemented by 2030

A consultation is also expected to be launched on banning electric shock collars and reforming practices of dog breeding, to make sure pets are brought up in environments that are healthy.

This will be done under the new animal welfare strategy, and new laws, which are to be implemented by 2030, methods in farming will be phased out. These include farrowing crates for pigs and colony cages for laying hens.

In its animal welfare strategy being unveiled on Monday, the government is also set to pledge the use of carbon dioxide stunning to kill pigs, while humane slaughtering requirements for farmed fish will be introduced.

According to chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, Tim Bonner, it was “unbelievable” that Labour was planning to crack down further on hunting.

“People across the countryside will be shocked that after Labour’s attack on family farms and its neglect of rural communities it thinks banning trail hunting and snares used for fox control are a political priority”, he told BBC News.

According to figures by Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of farmed dogs enter the UK every year.

Unscrupulous breeders often practice puppy farming, by over-breeding and denying essential care to the pets.

Kennel Club says that within their first year, a third of these puppies get sick or die.