On the 17th of October I attended a walk-in session for Members of Parliament with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in support of animal welfare. I spoke to Assistant Director of Public Affairs David Bowles about the worries of my constituents in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, that involve pet theft, puppy smuggling, live exports and livestock worrying.
Legislation Needed on Puppy Smuggling
A Bill on puppy imports would need to cover a number of factors including:
- Stop the import of puppies under six months old, which was successfully trialled in 2022 on imports from Romania, Ukraine, Belarus and Poland.
- Limit on the number of dogs per vehicle that can enter Great Britain to three (as opposed to five animals per person, which is currently the case).
- A ban on pregnant female dogs.
- The loophole on the importation of puppies with cropped ears to be closed.
I believe, with RSPCA that these changes would have a positive impact in tackling the illegal puppy trade. In particular, I strongly support any move to increase the age at which puppies can be legally imported from 15 weeks to 24 weeks. I know that very young dogs represent the biggest potential profits for puppy dealers because of the emotional pull of the ‘cute factor’ and so cutting off this part of the trade, if properly enforced, would be a potentially huge step forward.
Legislation Needed on Live Export on Animals
A Bill on live exports should make it an offence for anyone to export livestock (which includes cattle - including calves, sheep, pigs, wild boar, goats and equines) from Great Britain for slaughter or further fattening to anywhere outside of the British Islands.
The offence should cover sending or attempting to send animals from Great Britain outside the British Islands, transporting or attempting to transport animals abroad from or through Great Britain, and organising or attempting to organise an export. Anyone found guilty of an offence should be fined, or sentenced to prison, or both.
Legislation Needed on Pet Theft
Pet theft is devastating for pet owners in Uxbridge and South Ruislip and beyond. A new Bill is needed to make pet theft a specific criminal offence with access to appropriate custodial sentences. This would then act as a deterrent and provide a punishment that reflects the impact of stealing someone’s pet.
Legislation Needed on Live Stock Worrying
Livestock worrying can be devastating for farmers, and that is why myself and the RSPCA largely welcomed the reforms proposed in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill and are disappointed that the Bill was dropped.
A Bill to improve protection against livestock worrying should:
- Make it an offence if a person owns or is in charge of a dog when it attacks or worries livestock on any agricultural land, road or path allowing the owner to be disqualified from owning an animal. Ensure there is a mechanism to provide compensation for livestock owners attacked by dogs.
- Widen the definition of sheep worrying livestock as chasing livestock in a way that may cause injury or suffering or if a dog is on a lead.
- Set up a system to assess the animal welfare conditions of kennels used to keep seized dogs.
Following discussions with the RSPCA, on the 18th of October I attended a walk-in session for Members of Parliament, hosted by the Rt Hon George Eustice MP and organised by some of the UK’s biggest animal welfare groups, such as Compassion in World Farming, supporting their call for Bills to ban live exports from Great Britain for slaughter or fattening, ban the import of puppies and kittens under 6 months, along with other restrictions such as the import of dogs with cropped ears and; make dog abduction a specific offense.
After reflecting the conversations I had with the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation and Dogs Trust, I do believe the introduction of the Kept Animals Bill would have added weight to the Government’s argument that the UK is a global leader in animal welfare. But, with the Bill having been dropped, we are in danger of rapidly falling behind other countries. The Government must quickly legislate to ensure animals will not suffer as a result. I am delighted to support calls to ban live exports and end puppy and kitten smuggling, which already have such widespread public support. It’s time for the Government to deliver on their pledges to improve animal welfare.
James West, Chief Public Affairs Manager at Compassion in World Farming UK, said: “We know that a ban on live exports has huge public support, and it’s great to see that reflected in the large number of MPs who attended the event today. It is now time for the UK Government to take note and finally deliver the long-awaited Bill to ban live exports so this trade is ended once and for all. Thank you to all those MPs that attended today’s session and for helping to keep up the pressure to ensure legislation to ban live exports remains on the UK political agenda.”
Sonul Badiani-Hamment, Country Director at FOUR PAWS UK said: “With FOUR PAWS UK’s new report, ‘Tricks of the Trade: the truth about the illegal puppy trade in the UK’, revealing that almost half of all puppies sold on Gumtree were found to have been illegally imported into the UK between 2020 and 2021, it is clear that legislative change is urgently needed to tackle puppy smuggling. We urge the Government to reintroduce the measures contained in the dropped Kept Animal Bill, that had overwhelming cross party and public support, in the next Kings Speech to protect both consumers and animals and help demolish this cruel trade for good.”
I understand animal welfare is a large concern for my constituents, so I am committed in continuing my discussions with the UK's largest animal welfare organisations, and will consider taking the issues in this article forward if selected from the Private Member's Bill ballot.