There has been some misleading information circulating recently about the Government's commitment to animal welfare, which I wanted to correct.
The Kept Animals Bill contained many important measures, such as banning live animal exports, preventing pet theft and tackling livestock worrying. To speed up the process of getting these important measures into law, the Government will be taking these forward individually during the remainder of this Parliament.
There have been no live animal exports from Great Britain since 2020, but the legislation we are going to bring forward will make this permanent.
There will also be single issue legislation on puppy smuggling, pet theft and livestock worrying.
This will all build on the Government's impressive record on animal welfare, which includes:
- banning the use of conventional battery cages for hens
- making CCTV mandatory in slaughterhouses across England
- making microchips mandatory for dogs
- bringing in tougher sentences for animal cruelty.
Far from abandoning our commitments to animal welfare, we are doubling down on them.
