Protected Animal
An animal to which the cruelty and welfare offences in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 apply, defined by s.2 of the Act as an animal that is commonly domesticated in the British Islands, under the control of man, or not living in a wild state.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Section 2 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, headed '“Protected animal”', provides that an animal is a protected animal for the purposes of the Act if it satisfies one of three alternative conditions: 'it is of a kind which is commonly domesticated in the British Islands,' or 'it is under the control of man whether on a permanent or temporary basis, or' 'it is not living in a wild state.'
Because the three limbs are alternatives, an animal can be a protected animal even if it is a wild species, provided it is under human control at the relevant time — for example, a wild animal kept in a zoo or temporarily captured. The classification matters because the Act's core welfare duties and cruelty offences, including the duty to ensure an animal's needs are met, apply specifically to protected animals rather than to animals in general.
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Official sources
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