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, whether his Department plans to introduce a ban on the (a) display and (b) importation of (i) dolphins, (ii) whales, (iii) porpoises and (iv) other cetaceans.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government considers cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) to be highly intelligent, social animals, with complex needs that are unlikely to be met when removed from their natural marine habitat and kept in captivity.
The Zoo Licensing Act 1981 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006 require high standards for the welfare of kept animals. We consider these protections sufficient to ensure cetaceans are not displayed or otherwise kept in captivity in this country.
We are not aware of any cetaceans being kept in captivity or being displayed but if there was any indication that cetaceans were to be displayed or kept in captivity here again then we would of course consider further actions.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the Scottish Government to introduce mandatory welfare inspections for farmed fish by APHA Scotland; and what plans they have, if any, to introduce mandatory inspections for farmed fish in England.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any protected animal, or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of an animal, including fish, for which that person is responsible. Current regulations (1009/2009) require that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations. Any allegations of welfare or health issues will be investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Cefas, and where there are non-compliances with the regulations, appropriate action will be taken.
Visits to fish farms in Scotland are carried out by trained APHA inspectors in liaison with Marine Scotland Fish Inspectors in accordance with the requirements of Scottish Government (SG). APHA has been instructed by the SG to carry out inspections of farmed salmon slaughter facilities and based on these findings SG will then assess the need for future planned inspections. In England and Wales, there is no routine animal welfare inspection programme at farmed fish processing premises. However, as part of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are carefully considering issues raised in the review of the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015, including detailed protections for the welfare of farmed fish. We are also asking the Animal Welfare Committee to update its 2014 Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Republic of Ireland about illegal puppy breeding and smuggling.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government takes puppy smuggling and illegal dog breeding seriously. Now we have left the EU, we have the opportunity to manage our own pet travel and commercial importation rules. We continue to work closely with other countries and authorities, including Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in Republic of Ireland, to provide protection for those animals brought in by unscrupulous traders and to prevent the trade as much as we can.
The Government has a manifesto commitment to crack down on puppy smuggling. We are now making some significant changes to domestic law through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill which includes measures to address puppy smuggling. The Bill was introduced in Parliament on the 8 June and second reading took place on 25 October. The Bill will progress through Parliament when parliamentary time allows.
While the UK Government cannot guarantee that other countries will adopt similar welfare standards to our own, we are able to encourage others to do so through membership of international organisations such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will also continue its work to raise concerns about the welfare of animals with other Governments and international authorities at every suitable opportunity.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what progress they have made strengthening legal protections for farmed aquatic animals at the time of slaughter, and (2) what plans they have to introduce (a) specific protections in Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing regulations, or (b) any other legislation in this area.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Regulation 1099/2009 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. Now we have left the EU we have the opportunity to consider whether detailed regulation is needed.
We have recently concluded a review of the welfare of animals at the time of killing legislation and this identified potential improvements that might be made, including on the welfare of farmed fish at slaughter. We are carefully considering issues raised in the review.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide legal protections for aquatic animals.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
There is a range of legislation already in place to protect aquatic animals including the Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975, Eels Regulations 2009, Conservation of Seals Act 1970, the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee has recently commenced the seventh Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Later this year, JNCC will make evidence-based recommendations to the Secretary of State as to which species warrant additional legal protections to secure their future conservation. The Government will consider any recommendations to add species to Schedule 5 or 8, at this point, once these recommendations have been submitted.
Further, the Fisheries Act's ecosystems objective contains a requirement to "minimise, and where possible eliminate bycatch of sensitive marine species". We will set out policies that will help to achieve this objective in the Joint Fisheries Statement, which is a UK-wide document.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve animal welfare standards.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
This country has some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world. Having modernised standards for dog breeding, pet sales and other licensed activities involving animals, the Government is planning further improvements in a number of areas, some of which are manifesto commitments. On 30 November we published plans to deliver a better and fairer farming system in England that will help farmers adapt and plan for the future.
The proposals will transform the way we support farmers, in the most significant change to farming and land management in 50 years. This includes the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, which we are co-designing with industry, to promote the production of healthier, higher-welfare animals at a level beyond compliance with current regulations. A consultation on plans to ban the export of live animals for slaughter and fattening was launched on 3 December along with proposals to better protect animal welfare during transport.
On 6 December we launched a call for evidence exploring options consistent with World Trade Organisation rules to address the shark fin trade. The UK has a strong track record in marine conservation and has been pressing for stronger international action to protect sharks against unsustainable fishing practices and shark finning. We want to better understand shark fin trade and its impacts both in the UK and overseas.
We are also committed to legislating for animal sentience, to tackling puppy smuggling, to banning primates as pets and to increasing the maximum custodial penalty for animal cruelty from six months’ imprisonment to five years. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill, currently before Parliament, will achieve this increase and has the support of Government as it makes its way through Parliament.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2017 to Question 67637, for what reasons her Department does not have plans to assess the effect of microplastics entering the environment on animal welfare.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Defra-funded research has already demonstrated that microplastics can cause harm in the marine environment, including to marine animals. Our priority is therefore to prevent them from entering the marine environment in the first place. Our recent consultation requested evidence on the environmental impact of other sources of microplastics that may enter our seas. We will use this information to decide on what further action we will take to address microplastics entering the marine environment.
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, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of microplastics entering the marine environment on (a) wild and (b) non-wild animal welfare.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
We have not made any assessment of the effect of microplastics entering the marine environment on animal welfare. We have funded a study that demonstrated that microplastics can cause harm to marine animals by having an impact on their digestive systems and exposing them to chemicals. In addition we monitor levels of marine litter, including microplastics, both in the sea and along our coastlines to improve our understanding of the levels and impacts of marine litter.