End Puppy Smuggling
On Wednesday (21 June), the House of Commons considered an Opposition motion to return the Government’s Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill to Parliament.
In May 2023, the Government announced that it was no longer going to pursue the passage of this legislation. Instead, it said it would introduce its measures as single-issue pieces of legislation.
The Bill was originally intended to tackle the importation of cats, dogs and ferrets, the keeping of primates as pets, and the live export of animals for slaughter. It had finished its Committee Stage in November 2021 and had not been returned to Parliament for further scrutiny, despite promises to do so when time allowed.
I believe promises should be kept, and these measures were promised many years ago.
I and my colleagues are firm supporters of animal welfare, and I am proud of the measures introduced by a previous Government such as ending the testing of cosmetics on animals in 1998, and the banning of fur farming and the hunting of wild animals with dogs in England and Wales.
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was legislation that had passed its Second Reading in the House of Commons unanimously with support across the House of Commons. I know my colleagues had worked to strengthen the Bill, in order to give animals greater protections, not to derail the Bill.
When I talk about animals and their importance to the British public, I am not talking about possessions or objects. I am talking about the puppy that grows up with a child, through their teenage years and into adulthood. I am talking about the dog that is the companion of an older person, making sure that they do not have to go through the long nights alone and they have a reason to go out during the day. I am talking about animals that are part and parcel of our families and our national psyche. That is why it matters so much.
Disappointingly, the Government voted down the Opposition motion to bring back the Bill.
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