Animal welfare matters and is a personal passion of mine. I am proud to have supported a number of improvements to animal welfare legislation over recent years, including voting for the ivory ban and the ban on third-party puppy and kitten sales in England to help drive up animal welfare standards. Marc Abraham, the vet who led that campaign, was kind enough to say publicly that my support for the campaign behind the scenes was "of phenomenal use".
So, it is disappointing to read that some are now falsely claiming that the latest measures derived from the Kept Animals Bill have been scrapped. They have not. To be clear, the further measures are being implemented.
The Kept Animals Bill, introduced in June 2021, was designed to implement several of the Government’s ambitions for animal welfare. This included banning the live exports of animals, seeking to prevent pet theft, and new measures to tackle livestock worrying. The Bill’s multi-issue nature means that there has been considerable scope-creep, and the Bill risks being extended far beyond the original commitments, as well as and the Action Plan for Animal Welfare.
Therefore, the Government will now be taking forward measures in the Kept Animals Bill individually during the remainder of the Parliament.
By way of background, in May 2021, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published its Action Plan for Animal Welfare, setting out the Government’s aims and ambitions for animal welfare both domestically and internationally. To date, numerous key pledges on animal welfare have been achieved.
The Government has delivered on its manifesto commitment and tougher penalties for animal cruelty have come into force following the passing of the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act in 2021, which raised the maximum prison sentence for animal cruelty from six months to five years. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act received Royal Assent in 2022 and recognises that vertebrates, as well as lobsters, octopus and crabs are sentient. Through the Act, the Animal Sentience Committee ensures that the welfare of sentient animals is taken into consideration in central Government policy decisions.
The Ivory Act 2018 came into force in June 2022 and bans importing, exporting and dealing in items containing ivory. This week, the Ivory Act was extended to include hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, killer whale (orca) and sperm whales, in addition to elephants.
Puppy Smuggling
Regarding puppy smuggling, the Government will ban the imports of young, heavily pregnant or mutilated dogs and it would be supportive of legislating to ban this through a single-issue Bill when parliamentary time allows.
Regarding the keeping of primates as pets, the Government's consultation asked for views on proposals for a new specialist private primate keeper licensing regime in England.