Animals have long held the status of being sentient beings in the UK, through legislation created in the EU. This means they are recognised as being capable of feeling emotions such as joy and compassion, but also fear, suffering and terror. The vote in Parliament, narrowly won by the Government, removes this status from all animals in the UK, and is a massive blow for the welfare of wildlife, pets and livestock alike.

Why should we let the government determine whether animals have feelings? WE live in a DEMOCRACY! The vote against their sentience should not have been a vote to begin with. Animals are intelligent, compassionate, emotional, sentient beings and it's up to to you to be their vote!

Under EU law, animals are currently recognised as being capable of feeling pain and emotion. This MUST continue if we are to be a humanitarian nation after we leave the EU.

It is important to avoid the loss of progress made in animal welfare that has been made in recent decades.

Lilies cause severe kidney damage in cats. The vast majority of cases of lily poisoning occur in the home, usually from flowers in a bouquet or a pot plant. In severe cases the kidneys fail completely and the cat makes no urine at all.The build up of fluid and toxins causes acute kidney injury and death.

Whilst speaking to a colleague recently, I was shocked to hear that wild animals (such as camels and zebras) are still being used in circuses - right here in Bristol and across England. I haven't been to a circus since I was a child and naively assumed we'd outlawed the practice. Keeping wild animals in cages, before forcing them to perform tricks for our entertainment is cruel and archaic - and has no place in a modern, animal-loving society. According to PETA's website, Scotland and Wales have already been taking steps to ban the use of wild animals in circuses - whilst just this week the Republic of Ireland have announced a ban from next year (with Northern Ireland expected to follow suit). However, the government in England appear to have been dragging their feet for years over this issue - even though 94 percent of people support a ban. I think it's high-time we changed this and enforce our own ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, as soon as possible.

By making Chalky Meadow an asset of community value we will be in a very strong position to protect the site and help it thrive. We would like this meadow to be looked after by the community for the community. Chalky Meadow has become one of the last pockets of wild nature in Thaxted; we would like to keep it this way, we would like Thaxted to be proud to protect its wildlife for future generations to come.

Birds of prey are being illegally killed in large numbers although prosecutions for the illegal killing these birds is at an all time low. There are clear pointers that these birds are mainly being killed, by shooting, pole traps and poisoning, in areas associated with game shooting. New legislation is required to make it possible to prosecute the organisations responsible for this slaughter as well as the individuals who actually perform the killing. We are in imminent danger of the extinction of several rare species of raptors, like Hen Harriers, So action is desperately needed.

The residents need peace of mind and relaxation at night so speed calming measures need to be put in place to stop our cars being damaged or written off, animals being killed and prevent the injury or death of a child as a result of people constantly excessively speeding, motorbikes doing wheelie's and mainly driving like lunatics. Our roads are used as a quick cut through, with vehicles usually driving faster than the 30 mph speed limit on a regular basis, in an attempt to beat the traffic on the busy Reading Road and then used as race tracks at night. The result of this behaviour is lots of damage to vehicles and losses of beloved animals. My daughter's car that she didn't know she had was written of by a speeding driver who fled the scene leaving no details early hours of 1st October 2017, as reported in the Henley Standard. Numerous cars have been side swiped or had wing mirrors damaged by speeding vehicles and we sit and listen to the screeching of brakes and await the bang of the collision on a regular basis in the evenings. I personally have witnessed a couple of cyclists being knocked off their bike's and motorcyclists doing wheelie's or tricks up the road, animals being hit and killed while the driver carries on their way without stopping. This needs to stop!!! It was bad enough when the road was covered in potholes but since it has been resurfaced it has become 10 times worse at least. It is only a matter of time before it becomes a pedestrian that is badly/critically injured.

The board of the National Trust must be aware that 84% of the population are against hunting animals.This so called 'sport' should be consigned to the history books. It is barbaric, cruel and totally unnecessary and ineffective in controlling numbers. It is a hateful pastime for the privileged and uncaring few who gain pleasure from witnessing panic, pain, bloodshed and a grizzly death. The hunting ban must be strengthened and implemented with the full force of the law.

Fireworks are a blight on all peoples lives as well as our animal kingdom. They are too loud and cause great destruction killing or maiming animals and humans. Also the loud decibels of the fireworks has a detrimental affect on those that have served us and have PTSD with being in war-zones as it reminds them of bombs etc going off. There are also idiots setting them off causing mayhem and cruelty to animals and other humans hence another reason to stop the sale of PUBLIC FIREWORKS!!

Oil based plastics & their role in waste pollution are undeniably one of the most prominent problems facing our planets ecology to date, it affects all of us and our future on this planet. While we and our industries now rely on them for various uses, we must ask ourselves whether the damage we are causing out weighs their necessity and also whether the financial costs of making the change are viable. I would hope every single person would quickly and clearly say that in the case of most plastics, the answer is *Yes*. So what can we do?.....There has been a solution and an alternative for a long time: bio-degradable plastics made from hemp cellulose. We aim to get legislation passed that all plastics where possible are replaced with 100% biodegradable plastics & the use of oil based plastics reduced to the most necessary of uses such as HDPE plastics for industrial purposes. This does not mean that we can just sit back and relax, the biodegradable plastics will still require diligent collection and the correct conditions to degrade. This change should be made along side methane capture projects to ensure the methane given off at all landfill is captured and used as an energy source and not just left to escape into the atmosphere. Whilst traditional plastics take a long time to decompose and release harmful toxins into the ground, hemp plastics do not. They do however release methane, which we must be vigilant of - but as stated above this also opens up possibilities in methane capture and re-useable energy. Increased recycling availability (especially near the coast) will be paramount, as will clear identification of biodegradable plastics but this small step will have a great impact for the planet we live on, as well as our future generations. On top of that the increased growth of hemp will have a substantial impact on reversing the effects of deforestation and open up a whole new industry for hemp use in 100's if not 1000's of applications, reducing our reliability on crude oil. Win Win Hemp was once our greatest and foremost industrial crop for thousands of years, it is only in the last few centuries that it has declined in the U.K. And USA especially, due to its affiliation with marijuana and outdated drug laws. Let's work together and make the world a better place 💚