Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023

Motion to Approve

That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 14 December 2023 be approved.

My Lords, the UK has the highest welfare score in the G7, according to the world animal protection index, and some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world. This Government are determined to maintain our position as a world leader in animal welfare. These regulations will make an important contribution to the ambitious animal welfare reforms that have taken place since this Government came to power.

It is estimated that up to 5,000 primates may be being kept as pets in England. When we called for evidence in 2019, we were appalled by what we found. Some primates were being kept in bird cages; others were being fed junk food. These animals suffer and can be left malnourished, aggressive and malformed. The Government are introducing these regulations to provide the additional protection necessary for primates that are not kept in zoos but in domestic or other private settings, by requiring primate keepers to have a specialist licence to keep them. They will, in effect, ban people from keeping primates as household pets by ensuring that they are not kept in environments, such as people’s homes, that fail to provide for their needs. Primates have specific welfare needs, and this SI means that people will no longer be able to keep primates as household pets—that is, in their homes—in the same way that they might keep a pet dog or cat. Instead, private primate keepers will need to satisfy enforcement authorities that they can meet the zoo-like standards we have licensed for.

The Government consulted on the proposed prohibitions on keeping primates, and the introduction of a licensing scheme in England, in 2020 and 2023. Over 98% of responses to the Government’s consultation exercise in 2020 and over 97% of responses to the subsequent consultation in 2023 expressed overwhelming support for a bespoke licensing system for the private keeping of primates.

This SI is brought forward under Section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The licensing scheme it introduces will set stringent rules to ensure that only private keepers who can provide high welfare standards akin to those provided by licensed zoos will be able to keep primates. The SI outlines how applications for primate licences are to be made, how local authorities are to determine whether to grant a licence application, and how licences are to be renewed, varied or surrendered. It provides local authorities with powers to issue rectification notices and to revoke or vary primate licences.

Individuals who currently keep or intend to keep primates in England will be required to have a primate licence from 6 April 2026. Primate licences will be issued by local authorities only to individuals who can meet the welfare standards set out in the regulations. Anyone keeping a primate in England without a required licence will be committing an offence under Section 13(6) of the Animal Welfare Act and will be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term of up to six months, an unlimited fine or both.

Moved by

At end insert “but regrets that the draft Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2023 seek to implement through secondary legislation proposals that were previously contained in primary legislation; notes that they do not ban keeping primates as pets, and that they lack a grandfather clause; and calls upon His Majesty’s Government to put in place policies that appropriately support the rehoming of surrendered primates.”

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction to this statutory instrument. We on these Benches have been consistently campaigning for a ban on the trading and keeping of primates as pets. The Minister outlined a number of reasons why this needs to happen. The RSPCA found that primates kept in domestic settings were often isolated, could be kept in cramped and inappropriate housing such as parrot cages, and were weaned much earlier than would be natural, causing behavioural problems later in life for infants separated from their mothers.

The Monkey Sanctuary in Cornwall has reported that every pet primate it has rescued came to the sanctuary with behavioural problems such as rocking, pacing, obsessive grooming and biting themselves. Many primates also present with metabolic bone disease and tooth problems linked to vitamin deficiencies caused by poor diet, lack of sunlight and being weaned too early.

At the end of last year, we were pleased to see that, following consultation, the Government announced that:

“Keeping primates as pets will be banned under new legislation … improving the welfare of thousands of animals”.

In response to that consultation, 98.7%—4,500 people—expressed support for a ban on the keeping, breeding, acquiring, gifting, selling or otherwise transferring of primates, apart from to persons licensed to keep primates to zoo-level standards. So it is a bit disappointing that the regulations do not ban the keeping of primates as pets, but instead introduce a licensing system for primate keepers. To draw proper attention to this fact, I have tabled my amendment to the Motion, as it is important that the Government are clear and honest about what the legislation actually does.

I shall lay out our concerns relating to these draft regulations, including a number of issues that could be dealt with via accompanying guidance to the regulations. But first, I thank the RSCPA, the Born Free Foundation and other animal welfare organisations for sending us helpful briefings.

As the Minister explained, and as the Explanatory Note on page 18 of the draft regulations makes clear, as of 6 April 2026, keepers of pet primates who do not have a licence

“will be committing an offence”.

There are very few specialist primate sanctuaries, and most are at capacity. This will create huge challenges for local authorities, animal welfare organisations and rescue centres, and could result in pressure to grant licences for primates held in insufficient or inappropriate conditions because there is simply nowhere for them to be rehomed, or in many primates being kept illegally and covertly, which could result in further health and welfare issues. I am aware the Minister talked about how his officials would be working with local authorities and zoos, for example, but it is really important that, when that work takes place, this is resolved before we reach the cut-off date in April 2026. We could also see that more primates are released or abandoned. The risks are not clearly identified in any impact assessment associated with the regulations. Perhaps I have missed it and this is something that the Minister could clarify.

Defra, in its December 2020 consultation document, proposed that

“given the absence of other alternatives, these primates may continue to stay where they are for the rest of their lives or until they can be rehomed, subject to an annual vet visit”.

Almost all respondents to the 2020 call for evidence who supported a ban stated that a grandfather policy would be needed; it is not clear why this provision has been removed. What is the reasoning behind this?

What will the Government do to ensure there is a framework for local authority enforcement officers, animal welfare organisations and primate sanctuaries to manage the implementation of the regulations? Will the Government commit to urgently putting plans in place to address this issue, including providing financial assistance to genuine sanctuaries and working with zoos to ensure the welfare of the thousands of primates that will need to be rehomed if the Government are to achieve their stated intention of restricting primate-keeping to those who meet “zoo-level standards”?

I turn to some of the specifics of the SI in front of us. As currently drafted, inspections could be carried out by people who do not have the required specialist knowledge and expertise in the welfare of primates or their requirements. There is no stipulation in the regulations of the need for veterinarians to have appropriate specialist qualifications or experience. In Part 1, Regulation 2, “General Interpretation”, an appropriate expert is defined as

“a veterinarian; or … any other person who … is suitably qualified”

to provide that advice or guidance. Surely the Minister agrees that it is important that the guidance accompanying the regulations clearly specifies what constitutes a suitable qualification for vets or other individuals.

Animal welfare organisations have suggested that the following could be included in accompanying guidance. First, that a specialist vet must have a recognised professional qualification and experience relating to primates—I am aware that that may be challenging. I am not sure how many would actually have that qualification, but it needs to be looked at. Secondly, that a primate welfare specialist must have recognised qualifications and demonstrable experience in primate welfare, keeping and behaviour. Thirdly, any primate welfare specialist must have undergone specific training in how to conduct an inspection under the new standards. The final suggestion is that a registry of such experts should be retained by Defra, in order that they can be called upon to assist with any inspection when needed. Will the department consider those suggestions?