The UK has long led the way on animal welfare. I know that Ministers are enhancing our world-leading standards with ambitious reforms, as outlined in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare. The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will introduce landmark protections for pets, livestock and kept wild animals. I look forward to supporting the Bill through its parliamentary passage.
The Kept Animals Bill will strengthen domestic animal welfare protection for kept animals by delivering the Government’s manifesto commitments to end the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter, crack down on puppy smuggling, and ban the keeping of primates as pets. It will also update the Zoo Licensing Act, introduce a new pet abduction offence, and reform legislation covering to tackle livestock worrying.
On the issue of puppy smuggling, the Bill reduces the number of pet dogs, cats and ferrets that can be moved under the pet travel rules that apply to non-commercial movements. This will prevent unscrupulous traders from exploiting pet travel rules, making it harder to import large numbers of puppies into Great Britain.
The Bill includes a power to make regulations about the importation of pet animals into Great Britain for the purpose of promoting animal welfare. This will enable Ministers to go further in the future and explore measures such as increasing the minimum age that dogs can be moved into Great Britain, prohibiting the importation of heavily pregnant dams as well as banning the importing of dogs which have been subjected to low welfare practices such as ear cropping or tail docking.
As you will be aware, the Kept Animals Bill was carried over into the new parliamentary session following the Queen’s Speech. I know that there is strong support for the Bill and Ministers are keen to ensure that the Bill’s provisions get onto the statute book as soon as possible.
