Tell the UK Government: End the routine tail docking and castration of lambs

These procedures are often carried out when lambs are just days old. Methods such as tight rubber rings cut off the blood supply to the tail or testicles, causing prolonged pain before the tissue dies and falls away. Scientific evidence shows that these procedures cause significant pain, stress, and tissue damage, and that young lambs are especially sensitive to painful experiences. 

The Government’s own independent Animal Welfare Committee has concluded that routine tail docking and castration should no longer be standard practice. It recommends that these procedures should only be permitted in exceptional circumstances where there is a clear veterinary welfare justification and no suitable alternative. It has also called for the law to be changed by 2028. 

The Government has already committed to working towards implementing these recommendations. Now it must follow through. 

As a nation that recognises animals as sentient beings capable of feeling pain and suffering, we have a responsibility to ensure farming practices reflect modern science and public expectations. 

We are calling on the Government to: 

• Ban the routine tail docking and castration of lambs. 

• Permit these procedures only where a veterinary surgeon determines they are necessary for the welfare of an individual animal, with effective pain relief. 

• Introduce stronger monitoring, reporting, and enforcement to ensure the law is properly applied. 

• Publish a clear timetable to bring new legislation into force by 2028, in line with the Animal Welfare Committee’s recommendation. 

• Require imported food to meet UK animal welfare standards, so higher welfare is not undermined by lower-standard imports. 

• Support farmers to move away from production systems that rely on painful routine mutilations, while investing in more sustainable and diverse farming that benefits animals, people and the environment .

Please sign the petition and help bring an end to these cruel farming practices that cause significant suffering to millions of lambs every year. 

While cruelty is inherent within animal farming, ending the routine tail docking and castration of lambs would eliminate some of the cruellest practices endured by animals within the system.At the same time, every one of us can help spare lambs – and all animals – from suffering by choosing to leave them off our plates and opting for plants instead.  

Sign up for the free digital Love Lambs Week booklet to learn more, and for delicious, plant-based recipes. Love Lambs Week runs 1st – 7th September