A new animal welfare strategy set to impact Irish farming and pet ownership is “approaching completion”, according to Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon TD.

The term of Ireland’s first Animal Welfare Strategy 2021-2025 - Working Together for Animal Welfare - reached a conclusion at the end of 2025.

In 2025, a process was initiated to develop a new animal welfare strategy, which will act as a framework for the treatment of animals in Ireland for 2026-2030.

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Responding to a Dáil question from Dublin Rathdown TD Sinéad Gibney this week, Minister Heydon said the new strategy is “now approaching completion following a broad stakeholder engagement”.

Deputy Gibney highlighted that the consultation for the new strategy closed in January 2026, and asked for an explanation from the minister as to why it was not yet published.

The minister said the public consultation on the new animal welfare strategy, which ran from 19 November 2025 to 2 January 2026, received more than 1,750 individual submissions.

Evidence-led approach

“The new strategy will continue to adopt a ‘One Health, One Welfare’ approach, acknowledging and valuing the inter-dependencies between human, animal and environmental health, and taking an evidence-led approach to policy making, target-setting, monitoring and evaluation,” Minister Heydon said.

“I anticipate that the new strategy will be published in the near term.”

In terms of farming, the Animal Welfare Strategy 2021-2025 prioritised calf welfare standards and increased the investment ceilings tied to livestock welfare conditions, such as the TAMS II Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme.

The strategy also introduced legislation to prohibit fur farming in Ireland.

While it is not yet known how the Animal Welfare Strategy 2026-2030 will impact agriculture, farmers can expect there to be a continued focus on calf welfare, among other areas.