Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to review the sentencing guidelines for animal abuse.

Sentencing guidelines are developed and reviewed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, in fulfilment of its statutory duty to do so.

In July 2023, the Council issued guidelines on animal cruelty, which provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is. This is available on its website at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/animal-cruelty/.

Whilst the Government has no current plans to ask the Council to consider reviewing the animal cruelty guidelines, it is open to individuals to approach the Council to ask that it does so.