Rejected petition: Remove the legal obligation for vets to euthanise invasive species
Rejected on
Currently in the UK, vets are unable to treat an animal back to health and go on to release it if it is considered an invasive species. I believe this to be morally wrong as it is essentially a death sentence to many wounded creatures that could live perfectly fine lives with some assistance.
In practice, refusing the animal treatment is essentially killing it. Current law states that any hunting of invasive species must be done humanely and letting an animal suffer, likely traumatising it during transport, just to ultimately euthanise it doesn’t seem very humane.
The restriction on treating and releasing animals considered “invasive” should be removed, as that in itself could be called inhumane.
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.
We're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do. There is no legal obligation for vets to euthanise invasive species. There are strict restrictions on where non-native invasive animals can be held in captivity, and a licence or permit is needed to hold them for longer than 6 weeks. As it is illegal to release non-native invasive species into the wild, some vets may choose to euthanise animals to avoid breaking the law if they cannot be held legally elsewhere.
More information on restrictions on invasive non-native species can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/invasive-non-native-alien-animal-species-rules-in-england-and-wales
You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do, such as changing the amount of time that non-native invasive species can be held in captivity, or removing similar restrictions.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.