Found: Animal welfare is a devolved matter.
Correspondence Apr. 25 2024
Committee: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)Found: Lord Douglas-Miller, Minister for Biosecurity, Animal Health and Welfare, regarding the Border Target
Found: Animal welfare is a devolved matter.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward (a) legislative proposals to amend the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and (b) other legislative proposals to reclassify catapults as illegal weapons when used to harm wildlife.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government takes crimes against wildlife seriously, including those involving the use of catapults. The Government has no current plans though to amend the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which protects all wild birds and some wild animals in England and Wales.
While the Act does not include catapults in the list of weapons that a person must not use to kill an animal, it is still illegal under this Act to deliberately attempt to kill, injure, or harm protected species. There are a range of offences around deliberate attempts to kill, injure or inflict harm on wildlife under provisions not just in this Act, but also in the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and in the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Correspondence Apr. 24 2024
Committee: Welsh Affairs Committee (Department: Wales Office)Found: Vets play a vital role i n supporting animal health and welfare on farm as well as in relation to matters
Apr. 24 2024
Source Page: I. Veterinary Medicine Working Group (VMWG): Terms of reference. 4p. II. Letter dated April 2024 from Lord Douglas-Miller and Steve Baker MP to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding a document for deposit in the House libraries. 1p.Found: Lord Douglas -Miller Minister for Biosecurity, Animal Health and Welfare Seacole Building
Asked by: Burgess, Ariane (Scottish Green Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether open net salmon farming is a sustainable method of food production, in light of the article published in Nature on 7 March 2024, which found that mass die-offs on salmon farms have been increasing over the last decade in every country where salmon farming operates, including Scotland, and that increasing mortality results in increased waste along the supply chain, including wild-caught fish and soy used for feed, wrasse used as cleaner fish, and medicines and chemicals used for treatments.
Answered by Gougeon, Mairi - Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands
Salmon production contributes to our food security, producing healthy, nutritious food for people in Scotland and around the world with a greenhouse gas emissions profile that is lower than many other farmed sources of animal protein. The sector is heavily regulated and subject to robust legislation and policies relating to animal health, environment protection and local authority planning. The Scottish Government’s Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture is clear on our ambitions for an aquaculture sector which operates within environmental limits and which recognises social and economic benefits, and includes specific outcomes on fish health, cleaner fish welfare, best use of by-products and responsibly sourced fish feed.
Mentions:
1: Wendy Chamberlain (LD - North East Fife) An animal farmer might in some cases try their hardest to grow crops to be harvested in each season, - Speech Link
2: Jo Churchill (Con - Bury St Edmunds) He was a wonderful individual who contributed over many decades to the important issue of welfare. - Speech Link
3: Jo Churchill (Con - Bury St Edmunds) individuals in low-earning self-employment and thereby, in some instances, more of a dependency on the welfare - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Thérèse Coffey (Con - Suffolk Coastal) There were discussions about England and Wales, and whether this an animal welfare matter, which should - Speech Link
2: None I am particularly pleased to be here because I remember our debates in Committee on the Animal Welfare - Speech Link
3: Geoffrey Cox (Con - Torridge and West Devon) welfare of an animal, the Dangerous Dogs Act aims at a different mischief. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Whitham, Elena (SNP - Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) Do you have examples from other sectors in which high compliance is required, such as animal welfare? - Speech Link