Threads / Farm Animal Health and Welfare Improvements / Lamb welfare: proposed changes to castration and tail docki…
Closed Consultation Published 12 Jan 2026 Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs ↗ View on GOV.UK

Lamb welfare: proposed changes to castration and tail docking methods

Seeking views on proposed changes to the methods used for lamb castration and tail docking.

Opened 12 Jan 2026
Closed 9 Mar 2026
▤ Verbatim text from source document

View this consultation in Welsh

We want to know what you think about proposed changes to the methods used for lamb castration and tail docking to improve animal welfare.

We’re proposing to:

  • increase the accessibility of new methods that have been shown to be less harmful to welfare than traditional methods
  • require the use of pain relief for methods that are known to cause significant pain
  • set restrictions on who can carry out each method, how and when

We also want to gather more information on the impacts this may have on animal welfare and on the industry.