Welfare of Domestic Animals

Debate between Baroness Hayman of Ullock and Lord Black of Brentwood

Thursday 4th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Black of Brentwood]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to promote the welfare of domestic animals, including prohibiting the use of electric shock collars.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government remain committed to improving the welfare of domestic animals. We are considering the available evidence around hand-controlled electronic collars and their effects on animal welfare, and we will outline our next steps in due course. More broadly, we are developing an overarching approach to animal welfare and have been engaging with key welfare organisations as part of this work. The Prime Minister has committed to publish an animal welfare strategy by the end of this year.

[Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)]

I know the noble Baroness will agree that the use of electronic shock collars on cats and dogs is cruel and unnecessary, causing pain, fear and stress in animals we should be caring for. Could she therefore explain why they have not yet been banned, a full seven years after a consultation on their use in 2018 showed strong support in favour of a ban from those with animal welfare expertise? The then Government, with strong backing from the noble Baroness, were fully supportive, but draft regulations brought to this House in 2023 moved with glacial speed and timed out before the election. Since then, nothing has happened, and animals are still being caused pain and suffering. I know Whitehall can move with great speed when it wants to, but is not seven years unacceptable? Can the noble Baroness, who I know is a great supporter of animal welfare and a proud cat owner, tell us when these regulations will reappear?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right that I have been supporting this for some time, and that seven years is an awfully long time. That is why, when I came into my position as Animal Welfare Minister, I wanted to properly review all the animal welfare legislation that had been sitting there, left over from the previous Government. It is why we have been pulling together this overarching animal welfare strategy. We are looking at the available evidence on electronic shock collars. We are looking at the potential impacts on animal welfare, livestock management, dog training, and owner responsibility, which is an important part of it. So, as I say, keep a watching eye out for the animal welfare strategy.

Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023

Debate between Baroness Hayman of Ullock and Lord Black of Brentwood

Monday 1st September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I am determined to look at what makes the biggest difference. The whole essence of my approach to animal welfare is what makes the biggest difference, where are the most animals suffering abuse, and what can we do to try to reduce that. Those are the criteria we are looking at.

[Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)]

My Lords, I had the privilege of taking this legislation through this House, with the support of the Minister. I am profoundly disappointed that, two years after it reached the statute book, it has not been implemented, letting down the 150 charities which campaigned for it and the animals it would protect. Does the Minister recall the terrible fate of 20 year-old Andrea Taylor, who was violently killed on a visit to the Nongnooch resort in Thailand when an elephant which had been brutalised charged her? She is one of the many tourists killed or injured because this legislation is not yet effectively in place. Is it not unacceptable that until this law is implemented by regulation, tragically, there will be more Andrea Taylors?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I congratulate the noble Lord on sponsoring the Bill; I was very happy to support him. I point out that it may be two years since the legislation, but I have not been the Minister for two years. That is not to say that it has not been some time. I have met campaigners and stakeholders, and I am determined to take this through. It is, unfortunately, proving to be more complex than I would have liked, and I am absolutely aware of the tragic case he talks about. That is why we need to work not just on the legislation but more broadly than that. People can still buy these holidays online, advertised from other countries. We need to look not just at the legislation we can bring forward through this particular Act but much more broadly.

Domestic Animals: Welfare

Debate between Baroness Hayman of Ullock and Lord Black of Brentwood

Monday 16th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, and I declare my interest as a patron of International Cat Care.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord on his new job. The Government will end puppy smuggling, address puppy farming by tackling low-welfare dog breeding practices and consider whether more should be done to protect the welfare of companion animals. We are supporting some key measures in Private Members’ Bills and have already met with key companion animal stakeholders as the first steps in delivering on our commitments and developing an overarching approach to animal welfare.

[Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)]

I thank the Minister for her Answer and for her passion for and enduring commitment to animal welfare. Does she agree that too many cats are being bred commercially without adequate safeguards to protect their welfare? Increasingly, unregulated, unlicensed, unscrupulous owners are raising cats with extreme, exaggerated features to sell as fashion accessories without any concern for the terrible harm to the animal. So-called bully cats, for example, are bred without fur, which predisposes them to painful skin disease, and their genetically shortened legs can result in joint abnormalities and agonising arthritis. Will the Minister join me in condemning the practice of breeding for deformity, which causes unacceptable suffering and distress? Will she commit as a matter of urgency to regulating cat breeding in order to ban such activity?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

My Lords, the licensing of activities involving animal regulations requires anyone in the business of breeding and selling cats to have a licence, and they must meet statutory minimum welfare standards. The noble Lord makes some very good points about recent practices that are not acceptable. Defra has been working on a post-implementation review of the regulations, which will be published shortly. We are also carefully considering the recommendations in EFRA’s report on pet welfare and abuse, and the Animal Welfare Committee’s opinion on feline breeding, which will also be published soon.