Knowsley Council has joined a growing number of local authorities who have banned the offering of pets as rewards.

A Merseyside council has banned the offering of live animals as prizes at events on local authority land. Knowsley Council agreed to the ban at a meeting last week and has now called on central government to introduce a nationwide ban on the practice of offering “pets as prizes”.

A motion moved by Cllr Shelley Powell and seconded by Cllr Del Arnall highlighted the council’s previous commitment in 2020 that no events organized by local authorities would include the use of reindeer or donkeys, and that the use of animals would only be supported for educational purposes, in natural environments and where licensing and appropriate animal welfare measures were in place.

Following the full meeting of Knowsley Council, the local authority has passed a new motion to ban the offering of live animals as prizes at events held on local authority land.

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Earlier this year, the RSPCA launched its ‘No Fun at the Fair’ campaign, which calls for regulation of events that historically offer animals as rewards. Additionally, the charity also called on the UK and Welsh governments to follow Scotland’s lead and ban the practice outright. In England and Wales, current legislation states that it is illegal to give a pet to children under 16 years of age only if they are not accompanied by an adult.