Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the comments made by Judge Peter Veits in Lincolnshire Magistrates Court that the RSPCA had acted unlawfully in the initiation of the prosecution of a farmer, whether they intend to investigate the role of the RSPCA in bringing forward criminal prosecutions; and whether they plan to instruct police to conduct their own independent investigations.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Although the vast majority of farmed animal related welfare cases are prosecuted by the Local Authority, the Animal Welfare Act 2006 enables prosecutions to be taken by concerned individuals or bodies such as the RSPCA and we have no plans currently to amend.
Chief Constables are operationally independent, and it is for them take decisions on enforcement action and prosecutions.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to establish an offenders' registry for the perpetrators of animal cruelty.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Police National Computer holds all relevant information for prosecutions made for animal cruelty offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and the police may be approached by anyone who has concerns about whether someone should be keeping animals. The Department currently has no plans to establish a public offenders' registry for animal cruelty offences.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of fireworks on (a) domestic animals, (b) wild animals and (c) vulnerable people.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government endorses the considerate use of fireworks. We believe that the majority of individuals who use fireworks do so in a responsible and safe manner.
The Government takes the issues associated with the sale and use of fireworks seriously and we understand the concerns that some people have about the potential for distress to be caused by them. That is why there is a comprehensive regulatory framework in place for fireworks, that aims to reduce the risks and disturbances to both people and animals.
It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause unnecessary suffering to animals covered by the Act, and this includes through the misuse of fireworks. Users of fireworks need to use them responsibly and be aware of animals close by, and those found guilty under the Act of causing animals unnecessary suffering can face up to five years’ imprisonment.
Lower noise fireworks are commercially available to consumers to purchase if they wish to, potentially reducing distress to vulnerable groups and animals.
Animal welfare organisations such as the RSPCA also provide pet owners with advice on how to look after their pets during fireworks: How To Keep Your Pets Safe During Fireworks | RSPCA.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of fireworks on farms and farming.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government endorses the considerate use of fireworks. We believe that the majority of individuals who use fireworks do so in a responsible and safe manner.
The Government takes the issues associated with the sale and use of fireworks seriously and we understand the concerns that some people have about the potential for distress to be caused by them. That is why there is a comprehensive regulatory framework in place for fireworks, that aims to reduce the risks and disturbances to both people and animals.
It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause unnecessary suffering to animals covered by the Act, and this includes through the misuse of fireworks. Users of fireworks need to use them responsibly and be aware of animals close by, and those found guilty under the Act of causing animals unnecessary suffering can face up to five years’ imprisonment.
Lower noise fireworks are commercially available to consumers to purchase if they wish to, potentially reducing distress to vulnerable groups and animals.
Animal welfare organisations such as the RSPCA also provide pet owners with advice on how to look after their pets during fireworks: How To Keep Your Pets Safe During Fireworks | RSPCA.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any studies about the impact of domestic firework use on domestic animals, including cats and dogs; and, if not, whether they will commission one.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal, and this includes through the misuse of fireworks. Users of fireworks need to use them responsibly and be aware of animals close by, and those found guilty of causing animals unnecessary suffering can face up to five years’ imprisonment. We have no current plans to commission any studies on the impact of domestic firework use on domestic animals.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate (a) the stunning and (b) other aspects of the welfare of farmed fish.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Current legislation already provides protection for farmed fish kept for the production of meat or other products whilst on farm and during transport. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence either to cause any captive animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for welfare needs. 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.
The Animal Welfare Committee has updated its 2014 Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing and we are studying the recommendations carefully to determine next steps.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to tackle illegal dog fighting.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Causing an animal fight to take place, or attempting to do so, is an offence under Section 8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. It is also an offence to be present a at a dog fight without reasonable excuse or lawful authority.
The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 increases the maximum sentence for such offences from six months to five years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. This strengthened penalty sends a clear message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated and will enable our courts to take a firm approach to cases such as dog fighting.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce legislation to increase transparency in (a) investigations, (b) police reports and (c) prosecutions into cases of equine welfare.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 amends the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) to provide one of the toughest sanctions in Europe and strengthens the UK's position as a global leader on animal welfare. The 2006 Act’s maximum sentence of five years and/or an unlimited fine applies to the most serious animal cruelty offences, including causing unnecessary suffering, and is a significant step forward in improving animal welfare.
The 2006 Act is backed up by the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids which provides owners with information on how to meet the welfare needs of their equines, as required by the 2006 Act. The Code of Practice can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-welfare-of-horses-ponies-donkeys-and-their-hybrids.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many domestically reared ducks have been released for the shooting industry; what assessment they have made of the conditions in which such birds live; what assessment they have made of the risk of avian flu and other diseases following these releases; what drug treatments are used for these diseases; and what assessment they have made of the risks these treatments represent.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra does not hold data on the number of ducks released for shooting. Defra publishes all its risk assessments on GOV.UK as part of the ‘Animal diseases: international and UK monitoring’ collection and continues to monitor the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in both wild and kept birds, working with the game farming sector and conservation bodies, and will keep the need for further risk assessments under review. No products have a market authorisation for treatment of HPAI in poultry (including ducks reared for shooting) and vaccination of poultry against avian influenza is not permitted.
No recent assessment has been made of the conditions in which such birds live. The welfare of ducks while they are being reared for shooting is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (until such time as they are released in the wild), which makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any animal. In addition, the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes provides advice on husbandry, housing and management.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the application of existing animal welfare offences to content shared on or otherwise facilitated by regulated internet services.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Animal cruelty in England and Wales is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Similar legislation is in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Sentencing Council recently updated its sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The guidelines include ‘use of technology to record, publicise or promote cruelty’ as an aggravating factor for animal cruelty offences under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The guidelines specify that this includes circulating details/photographs/videos etc of the offence on social media. There is no central recording of the use of such factors in sentencing.
The number of prosecutions in England and Wales for animal cruelty offences under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for the last three years for which we have full data is set out in the table below:
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Prosecutions under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 | 1719 | 949 | 965 |
Depending on its nature, digital transmission of animal cruelty content may be an offence under different legislation, such as (but not exclusively) the Obscene Publications Act 1959 and the Communications Act 2007.