Animal Rescue Centres

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Monday 26th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for securing this debate. I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on cats.

Across the United Kingdom, nearly 60% of households own a pet, and around 10.2 million of those pets are cats. They bring comfort, companionship and a great deal of amusement to millions of families. I know that personally, because I am owned by two rescue cats, Clement Cattlee and Mo Meowlam. Vital to the welfare of those pets and their future are our rescue and rehoming centres, such as Johnstone Cat Rescue in my constituency. Those organisations carry out extraordinary work, but beyond the duty of care established in the Animal Welfare Act, there are no specific statutory requirements governing how those services operate. As a result standards vary wildly across the sector. That is deeply unfair to the many outstanding providers that deliver a genuine and professional service through the dedication and compassion of their staff and volunteers.

Sadly, as so often is the case, it is the few that fall short that cast a shadow over the many, and it is because of such cases that we are debating this issue today. Too often, lack of training, resources or proper oversight means that even well-intentioned providers fail to meet the standard of care that our cats deserve. In more troubling cases, animals are placed in foster or rehoming centres where due care and attention are simply not given.

I will give one example. Linda, a volunteer at her local cat protection charity, saw a photograph of a kitten advertised by a local rescue centre and wanted to offer it a loving home. She completed an online form and later received a brief telephone call. During that call, she was not asked about her lifestyle, her living arrangements or whether she had any other pets, and she was given no meaningful information about the kitten’s health, background or needs; she was told only that it was three months old. She paid an adoption fee over the phone and was given an address from which to collect the kitten a few days later.

When Linda arrived, she was not allowed into the property. Instead, the fosterer came outside, closed the door behind them, took the cat carrier from Linda’s hands, pushed the cat inside and handed the carrier back to her. There was no opportunity to see the kitten’s living conditions, to see its mother and assess its health, or have any conversation about its needs or care. She was then told, almost as an afterthought, that the kitten had not been neutered or vaccinated.

That is why regulation matters. We need clear, enforceable, baseline minimum standards that protect animals, support responsible rescue centres and give the public confidence in the system. That must be backed by properly trained inspectors and meaningful oversight.

As has been mentioned, the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes has standards that could provide a good basis for the licensing of rescue and rehoming centres and help local authorities to enforce any licensing regime. The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes has 153 rescue centres already following those standards, which have been enforceable since 2015 and are self and externally audited. They cover the management and governance of centres, as well as the health and welfare of the cats and dogs in those centres and transported to them. The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 should also be considered when looking at existing standards, as they also cover wildlife.

I welcome the Government’s recent animal welfare strategy, but I confess that I was disappointed to see no clear detail on how they intend to consult on the licensing of animal welfare establishments. Through my work as chair of the APPG on cats, I know that the sector is ready and willing to engage; the Government should be equally willing to listen.

If new legislation is to genuinely improve standards, we must also learn from the experience in Scotland, where it has become clear that without effective enforcement, adequate funding and properly trained inspectors, legislation alone does little to improve the lives of animals in substandard establishments. Scotland’s two-tier licensing system has also caused confusion for both rescue centres and local authorities. That is a lesson that we should take seriously, so that any system introduced in England is clear, workable and accessible for those who operate within it.

Our rescue centres do remarkable work; our cats deserve the highest standards of care, and the public deserve to have confidence that, when they open their homes and their hearts to animals in need, the system behind that decision is worthy of their trust.

Animal Welfare Strategy

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

I say politely to the right hon. Gentleman that the time to raise those issues was earlier today.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

Merry Christmas to you, Mr Speaker, and to everyone across the House. I reiterate what colleagues from across the Chamber have said about the importance of reforming the Veterinary Surgeons Act. It is 60 years old and has not kept pace with modern medicine, new technology or the way that veterinary practices are run. Will my right hon. Friend set out how the animal welfare strategy will tackle the extraordinary increase in veterinary fees, which is a massive cost of living issue? Finally, I thank veterinary surgeons across the UK, particularly those at Glasgow University’s veterinary hospital, who I had cause to see rather more frequently than I would have liked this year.

[Mr Speaker]

Those cats need feeding! Come on, Secretary of State.

Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Thursday 23rd October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dame Angela Eagle]

On the hon. Gentleman’s last point, clearly improving water quality is another policy area. The coastal growth fund is not about improving water quality; it is about building resilience, helping to modernise the fishing industry through high tech, access to training and entry to the industry. We must not mix up Government support for different issues, and try to shove everything into one policy.

The hon. Gentleman also asks about the reset for export purposes. If we can do it properly, the reset with the EU will enable the export of fish and catch with much less red tape than we have ended up with, post Brexit. There are big gains to be made from that. Likewise, if we can get the free trade agreement to work properly, it will increase the prospect of fishing industry exports to other parts of the world.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

Scottish salmon is renowned around the world for its quality and taste. How are the Government supporting the promotion of the Scottish salmon industry around the world?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

My hon. Friend is correct. I believe that the free trade deal with India took away all tariffs on Scottish salmon, so hopefully there will be a lot more of it heading that way soon.

Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 14th May 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

The hon. Gentleman talks eloquently about the plight of puppies being transported into the United Kingdom. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on cats, and the proud owner of two cats, Clement Catlee and Mo Meowlam, I can also attest to the positive benefits that they bring to mental health.

On the transport of cats into the UK, does the hon. Gentleman agree that there has been a significant rise in the number of purebred and pedigree cats over the last five years? Last year, for the first time, the percentage of pedigree and purebred cats obtained, at 45%, overtook the number of moggies, which is currently at 43%. Does the hon. Gentleman also agree that stress in cats is often very serious, and that travel is particularly stressful for them?

[The Chair]

I realise that we had to get the cat names in, but may I ask for interventions to be brief? The hon. Lady is of course welcome to try to catch my eye if she wants to make a longer contribution.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Chambers]

He is not—my condolences to the hon. Lady’s brother on the loss of Oscar, his much-loved ferret.

Crucially, subsections (3) and (4) state that the first regulations made under the regulation-making power in subsection (1) in relation to England, Scotland and Wales must include prohibitions on the three specific types of low-welfare imports. Governments in Great Britain must first use the power to raise the minimum age at which a dog or cat can be brought into Great Britain to six months, to prohibit the bringing into Great Britain of dogs and cats that are heavily pregnant and to ban the bringing into Great Britain of dogs and cats with non-exempted mutilations, such as cropped ears.

[Johanna Baxter]

Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that under subsection (4)(c), the reference to cats that have been mutilated includes cats that have been declawed?

[Dr Chambers]

Yes, I can confirm that. The declawing of cats is specifically included, but it covers any mutilation that is for cosmetic purposes only and not for the welfare of the animal.

The restrictions will be subject to appropriate exemptions, which I will touch on shortly. Despite the current rules specifying that a dog or cat cannot be brought into Great Britain under 15 weeks old, we still see puppies arriving that are eight weeks old or sometimes even younger. Separating a puppy from its mother too young has implications for the puppy’s health and welfare. Evidence from stakeholders also suggests that puppies imported into Great Britain have frequently been subjected to unacceptable breeding practices abroad and transported in poor conditions.

Raising the minimum age at which a puppy or kitten can be brought into Great Britain to six months old will disrupt the low-welfare movement of under-age puppies into Great Britain. At six months old, both puppies and kittens can be aged more accurately, which will make it easier to enforce the new minimum age and to identify under-age dogs and cats. We hope that the measure will result in significantly fewer low-welfare breeding operations supplying the Great Britain market.

Currently, welfare and transport regulations prevent an animal from being transported during the final 10% of its gestation. That limit is insufficient to tackle the emerging practice of importing heavily pregnant dogs, and it is very difficult to identify the stage of pregnancy accurately.

Oral Answers to Questions

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Thursday 8th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor General]

The hon. Member raises an important issue. We know that rural and farming communities face acute and bespoke threats from criminals, including highly organised crime groups that are exploiting our rural communities. He has referred to livestock theft, but those communities also face fly-tipping and machinery and fuel theft. We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, and are also committed to further funding for the national rural and wildlife crime units. We have announced additional funding for those units, because we recognise just how critical it is to crack down on rural crime. I should also mention policing, because our neighbourhood policing guarantee covers the entirety of this country—not just urban areas, but rural areas too.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

4. What steps her Department is taking to support the Serious Fraud Office in tackling economic crime.

[Lloyd Hatton (South Dorset) (Lab)]

9. What steps her Department is taking to support the Serious Fraud Office in tackling economic crime.

[The Solicitor General]

This Government are determined to crack down on the scourge of economic crime, and the Serious Fraud Office does crucial work to tackle complex fraud, bribery and corruption. Under its new director, the SFO has opened nine new overt investigations and charged 16 defendants. Just last week, I saw the SFO’s crucial work at first hand when I observed a dawn raid carried out in relation to a new multimillion-pound bribery investigation.

[Johanna Baxter]

The vast majority of UK businesses play by the rules, but fraud is estimated to cost UK taxpayers—including my constituents—between £55 billion and £80 billion per year. What is the Serious Fraud Office doing to encourage businesses to self-report wrongdoing?

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; the vast majority of businesses do play by the rules, and fraud is so damaging precisely because it undermines everyone who plays fairly. That is why this Government are so determined to tackle it. I welcome the SFO’s recently revised guidance, which aims to drive up the number of corporates that self-report wrongdoing. That is a positive development that will foster good corporate citizenship, and it is an important contributor to this Government’s economic growth mission.

Oral Answers to Questions

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

The problem facing farming is that it became unprofitable because of the actions of the previous Government, who undercut farm businesses in trade deals, undercut farmers on welfare and environmental standards and raised barriers to exports to the European markets, causing exports to plunge by 20% since 2018, which led to record numbers of bankruptcies. This Government have a plan for change that involves turning farming into a profitable set of businesses, including by backing British businesses through public sector food procurement and ruling out trade deals that undercut farmers in the way the previous Government were happy to do.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

T3. I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on cats. The Animal Welfare Committee’s report in September highlighted an urgent need for further regulation around the breeding of cats, after it uncovered the deeply concerning trend in demand for cats and other animals that are bred with extreme characteristics. Will the Minister set out how many of the report’s recommendations the Government have taken up, and what their timeframes are for implementation?

[The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Daniel Zeichner)]

I am sure that my hon. Friend’s cats, who I am told are called Clem Cattlee and Mo Meowlam, will be delighted to hear that the Government are looking very closely at the Animal Welfare Committee’s opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. I can assure them that we are carefully considering the committee’s recommendations.