Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it remains his Department's policy to review the use of cages in farming.
Answered by Mark Spencer
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 03 November 2022 to the hon. Member for Glasgow North, PQ UIN 69670.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure the welfare of kept animals (a) imported into and (b) exported from the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer
HM Government published a wide-reaching and ambitious Action Plan for Animal Welfare on 12 May 2021, setting out current and future work on animal welfare. Now that we have left the EU, we are making significant changes to domestic law through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, bringing into legislation manifesto commitments to end the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter and to crack down on puppy smuggling.
Through the Bill, HM Government will be banning exports of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and equines for slaughter and fattening on journeys that begin in or transit through the United Kingdom to a third country. The Bill also protects the welfare of pet animals, addressing low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain, including powers to introduce new restrictions, via secondary legislation, on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds.
HM Government is committed to improving the welfare standards of all animal journeys. We have consulted on proposals for improvements to animal welfare in transport and we published the summary of responses and HM Government’s response to this consultation in August 2021. We are now working closely with all interested partners on the detailed issues and evidence, to create workable solutions and good welfare outcomes.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is committed to the continuation of environmental land management schemes.
Answered by Mark Spencer
We remain committed to environmental land management and are looking at how best to deliver the schemes to see where and how improvements can be made. We will continue to work closely with the sector in developing the schemes and publish more information by the end of the year.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure the welfare of reindeer being used at seasonal events during winter 2022-23.
Answered by Scott Mann
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) require that anyone in the business of keeping or training animals for exhibition needs a valid licence from their local authority, including reindeer used at seasonal events. Licencees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences.
The 2018 Regulations are accompanied by statutory guidance notes developed to help local authorities enforce the licensing regime. The guidance notes for keeping or training animals for exhibition can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-activities-licensing-guidance-for-local-authorities/keeping-or-training-animals-for-exhibition-licensing-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities
The keeping of dangerous wild animals is also regulated by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. The Act requires owners of dangerous wild animals, as listed in the Act, to be licensed by their Local Authority. A reindeer (with the exception of a domestic reindeer) is classified by the act as a dangerous wild animal. The aim of the Act is to ensure that where private individuals keep dangerous wild animals, they do so in circumstances that create no risk to the public.
A local authority may only grant a licence if it is satisfied that it would not be contrary to public interest on the grounds of safety or nuisance; that the applicant is a suitable person; and the animal's accommodation is adequate and secure.
If anyone has any concerns about the welfare of a reindeer that is being exhibited, they should report the matter to the relevant local authority who have powers to investigate.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the suffering of farmed fish at the time of killing.
Answered by Steve Double
Legislation on the protection of animals at the time of killing requires that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations.
As part of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are currently considering improvements that could be made to the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing. To inform this work, we have asked the Animal Welfare Committee for advice and this is expected in the autumn.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the data published by Natural England on 15 December 2021 on the number of satellite tags on hen harriers that have stopped transmitting since November 2021.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
For many years Natural England (NE) has been involved with monitoring, tagging and satellite tracking hen harriers. When a bird goes missing, it may be due to natural causes, an issue with the device, or there is a possibility that it could have been illegally killed. In the first instance, NE staff communicate with the police and will attempt to retrieve the bird to establish the cause of death. If there is evidence of illegal killing, police will investigate, assisted by NE.
As of the end of the last breeding season, NE was tracking 29 hen harriers: 17 newly-fledged juveniles and 12 adults. Of the 17 juveniles hatched and tagged in 2021, in 10 cases the tags have ceased transmitting, with the birds believed to have died. Of those, three have been found, of which two appear to have died due to natural causes, and one is pending further investigation. The other seven were not found, with no police investigations due to the absence of any information about cause of death. Of the 12 adults being tracked, one tag has ceased transmitting, with the bird believed to have died, and has not been found. NE is therefore still tracking seven juveniles and 11 adults. Natural mortality of juvenile hen harriers is much higher than adults, and it would not be surprising for at least 50 per cent to die naturally in their first year, even in the absence of persecution. There is currently an ongoing police investigation into t he death of an adult bird that went missing last year before the end of the breeding season.
The Government takes wildlife crime seriously, with most wildlife crimes carrying an unlimited fine and/or a six-month custodial sentence. To address concerns about the illegal killing of birds of prey, senior Government and enforcement officers have identified raptor persecution as a national wildlife crime priority. NE and Defra continue to be fully involved with the police-led Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group and NE continues to work closely with Wildlife Crime Officers. Additionally, since 2016, Defra and the Home Office have contributed approximately £300,000 annually to the National Wildlife Crime Unit, which monitors and gathers intelligence on wildlife crime, including raptor persecution, and aids police forces in their investigations when required.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure the welfare of reindeer being used at seasonal events during winter 2021-22.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. Anyone who is cruel to an animal, or does not provide for its welfare, may be banned from owning animals. They may also face an unlimited fine, be sent to prison, or both.
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 require that anyone in the business of keeping or training animals for exhibition needs a valid licence from their local authority. Licences must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences. The 2018 Regulations are accompanied by statutory guidance notes developed to help local authorities enforce the licensing regime: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-activities-licensing-guidance-for-local-authorities
The 2018 Regulations are due to be reviewed five years after they came into force (2023) and so this will be an appropriate time to re-examine the minimum standards, the associated guidance and consider any major changes.
If anyone has any concerns about the welfare of any animal that is being temporarily exhibited at a seasonal event, they should report the matter to the relevant local authority who have powers to investigate.