Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for a) reviewing and b) strengthening penalties for cruelty against wildlife.

The commitment to review and look to strengthen penalties for cruelty against wildlife - so they are consistent with higher levels of sentencing available for animal welfare offences against pets and livestock - was made in the Government’s Animal Welfare Strategy, published in December 2025. Any strengthening of penalties for cruelty against wildlife will require primary legislation, and Defra will seek to deliver this change as soon as a suitable primary vehicle is identified. The strategy document itself states there is an aim to achieve the changes and improvements set out within it by no later than 2030.