Policy Objectives
The Government published their Action Plan for Animal Welfare in May 2021, which set out a range of legislative and non-legislative reforms to solidify and enhance the UK’s policy on animal welfare and to reduce the decline in global biodiversity.
	The UK has pressed for stronger international action to protect sharks against unsustainable fishing practices, with shark finning having been banned in UK waters for nearly 20 years. The Department published a call for evidence in December 2020 to gather evidence on the extent of trade in shark fins in the UK and the potential impact of stricter trade measures. The Act bans imports and exports of detached shark fins or parts of shark fins, or things containing them, except in limited circumstances (i.e. in connection with the conservation of sharks), so that only fins naturally attached to the body of the shark can be imported or exported. The Act does not prevent the sale or consumption of shark fins in the UK, but the measure provides assurances that the whole shark has been landed and traded rather than fins obtained through shark finning practices.