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That this House has considered the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on animal welfare.
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms McVey, and to serve under your chairship. I am delighted to have secured the debate on an issue that, if my email inbox is anything to go by, many of our constituents across the country feel very strongly about.
I want to place on the record my gratitude to some of the incredible organisations who work hard all year round to support animal welfare projects across the country. Indeed, many of those organisations—there are far too many to list—have supported me with my preparation for the debate. Locally, I am grateful for the expertise of Hope Rescue, a dog rescue charity working across south Wales who operate from a rescue centre in Llanharan, just across the border in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Chris Elmore). Thankfully, Hope Rescue’s work covers the whole of Rhondda Cynon Taf and beyond, and I am extremely grateful for its engagement ahead of the debate. The same sentiments apply to Friends of Animals Wales, which has been working constantly behind the scenes to improve, educate and inform on the importance of robust animal welfare standards for all of us in Wales.
I must finally extend my thanks to the many national organisations whom I have met and engaged with ahead of today. I will try my best to name them all, but an exhaustive list is practically impossible. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, the Dogs Trust, Blue Cross, the Kennel Club, Wildlife and Countryside Link and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Cymru all have some incredible research and recommendation reports. I urge colleagues of all political persuasions to reach out and read the information readily available to us all. Finally, I am especially grateful to the House of Commons Library service, whose briefing will, I am sure, be well referred to by colleagues.
We keep springer spaniels and cocker spaniels, because we do hunting and shooting. My son sold a dog last year for £150 and the pups this year are making £2,500. The value is absolutely abnormal and as a result dog thefts have risen dramatically. Does the hon. Lady agree that better co-operation on dog sales is needed between all the regions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to ensure an end to dog thefts, and an end to the dispersal of dogs around the UK—or at least better regulation?
I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Gentleman. There has been a dramatic rise in pet theft throughout lockdown and, sadly, those pets are being transported across all four regions of our United Kingdom, so it is vital to have a joined-up approach to tackling the issue.
I am sure that the majority of the people who have acquired pets during the lockdown will go on to become loving pet owners, but impulse purchases are hugely worrying for rescue centres, which anticipate a surge in the number of animals being brought to them when life returns to normal. It is important to note that a dog is for life, not just for lockdown. The RSPCA has concerns that as the economic consequences of covid-19 continue to take hold, more and more larger animals, including horses, will face neglect and abandonment too.
Sadly but unsurprisingly, the increase in demand for animals has had a huge impact on the incidence of pet theft, as the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) said. The Minister will be aware—I am sure she is as concerned as I am—of the response to a recent freedom of information request stating that in five policing areas there was a double-digit increase in the number of dog thefts reported between January and July 2020, compared with the previous year.
I know at first hand how worrying those incidents can be for communities. Community Facebook groups in my area are full of posts from people worrying about dog thefts, vans driving around suspiciously and chalk prints being put on houses where a dog is known to be present. I should be interested to hear the Minister’s comments about conversations with colleagues in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport about the spread of misinformation, and social media companies’ responsibility to regulate fake news, particularly in the context of animal welfare. Pets really are part of our families, so I fully understand why such posts and the threat of pet theft cause such alarm in communities.
Back Benchers will now be called, followed by the Scottish National party spokesperson, the Opposition Front-Bench spokesperson and the Minister. I will look to call the first Front-Bench spokesperson no later than 3.30 pm. We have plenty of time—approximately 10 minutes—for each of the Members to speak.
It is a privilege to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I congratulate the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones) on securing this important debate. Animal welfare is an issue that unites us; I firmly believe that we should work together and that animal welfare should transcend party politics.
First, I declare a strong interest as a veterinary surgeon, and put on record my thanks to the vets, nurses and staff in practices up and down the country, who have done so much to look after the health and welfare of animals during these challenging times. They are the custodians of animal health and welfare and they have stepped up admirably to administer care in challenging circumstances. I would also like to thank the animal welfare charities that have had a challenging time during this period.
As we heard from the hon. Lady, covid has brought into sharp relief many issues related to animal welfare. We all know the benefits of owning animals and looking after pets; how that can help our own mental and physical health, as well as bring benefits to the animals. That is an important point to remember.
Unfortunately, the covid crisis has brought into sharp relief related negative aspects. As we have heard, there has been a significant increase in demand for pets and animals, leading to huge increases in prices, which fuel the trade in animals and the scope for unscrupulous breeders to come into the market. We have also heard about a significant increase in pet smuggling, leading to puppies being transported in dreadful conditions. There have been horrific cases of heavily pregnant dogs being transported in awful circumstances to give birth, in order to get round loopholes in legislation. There has been a decrease in the number of animals transported through the Pet Travel Scheme but conversely an increase in the commercial movement of animals into the UK, for instance, through the Balai directive.
I thank the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones) for her sponsorship of this debate and her excellent exposition of the challenges for animal welfare as a result of covid-19.
Although, with covid-19, we face a situation unparalleled in our lifetime, with all its challenges and all it has cost us in the loss of loved ones, job opportunities, and disruption, we know that there is no situation that will diminish the importance of animal welfare in the eyes of our constituents. The UK is indeed four nations of animal lovers. Animal welfare has been a mainstay of my inbox since 2015, whether the subject is the cruel practice of puppy smuggling, the ivory trade, the fur trade, experimentation on animals, the wildlife trade, animal caging, or trophy hunting. Animal cruelty of any type has motivated my constituents to contact me in large numbers to express their concerns. I am sure every Member present would say the same.
Covid-19 has thrown up challenges for animal welfare, as it has in a whole range of areas. For charities such as Dogs Trust, covid-19 has put significant strain on its operations, and its rehoming centres have had to operate at a much reduced capacity. All 20 of its rehoming centres were closed to the public while staff continued to do all they could to safeguard the welfare of the dogs in its care. Rehoming has taken place during covid-19, but it has been very challenging and last year decreased by 88%. The same is true for cats, according to Cats Protection. This is deeply unfortunate when we know that covid led to an increased demand for dogs, with Google searches for “buy a puppy” increasing by 166% after the first lockdown was announced.
It is not surprising that more people want the companionship of a dog or cat when they are forced to spend more time at home. But, as we have heard, there is some concern that, when people return to something like a normal routine, or if people find themselves out of work and on a much tighter budget, they may find that they can no longer accommodate a pet in their lives as they once did. Charities like Dogs Trust, the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Blue Cross or Cats Protection will somehow take on these animals, and offer them whatever home they can. We also expect that the so-called pandemic puppies are likely to be less socialised than they would be if they had been bought in normal times. Animal charities have some concerns about puppies acquired during lockdown, with limited opportunities for socialising, social distancing, a lack of exposure to other people and, indeed, a lack of exposure even to traffic and everyday life. Ultimately, those charities may have to pick up the pieces if those pets are required to be rehomed.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Ms McVey, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones) on securing time to debate this important issue. After 12 months of this health emergency, we are all very conscious that thousands of people have lost loved ones; others are debilitated by long covid and the after-effects of the virus; and, of course, so many people have lost their jobs or had their incomes drastically cut by the emergency. All those people have my sympathy and support after all the difficult experiences they have been through.
However, the sad fact is that this health crisis has also hit defenceless animals, as we have already heard in this debate. Like others, I pay tribute to everyone who has been involved in caring for animals, whether that is people caring for their own pets, vets and their staff, zoo staff, farmers, or the animal welfare charities and rescue centres that do such incredible work. The sad fact is that most charitable fundraising has become almost impossible over the past year, leaving a really significant gap in the income of these very important bodies. As we have already heard, the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home reports, for example, that nine out of 10 rescue centres have seen their income fall. Furlough clearly will have helped, as will much of the rest of the Government’s comprehensive covid support scheme, but it still leaves a hole in the income of these charities caring for vulnerable animals.
The Battersea charity also reports a 214% spike in people searching online to buy a dog. Heightened demand has seen prices climb, leading to increased anxiety about pet theft. It will have also increased dependence on pet imports, some of which, as we have heard, involve smuggling and illegal and unacceptable welfare practices. Over £280,000 has been lost to fraudsters from people paying deposits for pets advertised online. The big increase in the number of people buying new pets will, for many, have provided a crucial and much-valued antidote to loneliness and boredom during lockdown, particularly for many children stuck at home week after week, away from their friends. However, the worry is that the covid rush to buy cats, dogs and other pets may ultimately lead to an upsurge in companion animals being relinquished or abandoned when reality bites and we all start to return to the office.
It is a delight to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I congratulate the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones) on securing such an important debate. Having heard the contributions so far, there is very little to add, as my colleagues have expressed the very real and varied issues of animal welfare that have been exacerbated during the pandemic period in an articulate and passionate way. I am always interested and delighted to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Dr Hudson), who uses his expertise on these matters as a true animal welfare champion, and I would always turn to his wise words on many of these issues.
Like other Members, I have consulted many facts and figures about what I wanted to say today, but I am going to go back to something I have spoken about before to the excellent Minister. I have had an opportunity to speak to her on a number of occasions, and she is a champion of animal welfare. Rather than simply regurgitating facts, I have to mention my private Member’s Bill, which is snappily titled the Pets (Microchips) Bill, and urges the Government to consider putting Tuk’s law and Gizmo’s law into legislation. For those who are unaware, Tuk’s law—this is the aim of my private Member’s Bill, as well as the aim of hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country—would make it a legal requirement for veterinary surgeons to scan for rescue back-up contact details of, for example, a former owner or breeder, and contact those people to inquire whether they would like to take ownership of the pet, and confirm that the person presenting the animal to the veterinary surgeon is registered on the microchip prior to euthanasia of the pet.
When I was first approached about this issue, I was absolutely astonished. I have a pet dog, Bertie, who is, along with many other things, the light of my life. The impact of Bertie, who was bought during the pandemic, especially on my two young children has been a joy to behold. The idea that people could go to a veterinary surgeon with a fit and healthy dog, present themselves as the owner—or not the owner in certain circumstances—and that animal could potentially be euthanised is clearly something that legislation is required to address.
I move now to the Front-Bench contributions, mindful of the fact that we will leave time at the end for Alex Davies-Jones to make some winding-up comments.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones) for securing this debate, which is about a very serious problem for people across these islands. My constituents in Angus are no different, and have contacted me in significant numbers about this issue.
Since devolution, where Scotland leads, the rest of the UK often follows, and so it is in animal welfare. Scotland was the first part of the UK to ban performances of wild animals in travelling circuses. That important animal welfare policy was widely welcomed, and since been replicated elsewhere in the UK.
As part of the European Union, we were obligated to maintain strict animal welfare policies. In some instances, Scotland exceeded the minimum standards, for example, with bans on fur farms. While there are historic positives, there are also low points, such as the Conservatives’ manifesto position in 2015 and again, in 2017. They stood on a manifesto that would give their MPs a free vote on repealing the fox-hunting ban—a ban against which the Prime Minister himself voted in 2004.
With the effects of covid compounded by the administrative and exporting challenges thrown up by Brexit, along with to the Government’s refusal to uphold animal welfare standards in either the Trade Bill or the Agriculture Act 2020, we see a challenged position. Moreover, that position is inconsistent with “Scotland the Brand”, which has a world-class reputation, thanks in no small part to Scotland’s strong animal welfare policies.
Covid has presented additional challenges, over and above Brexit, on animal welfare and, in particular, on the domestic and international trade in puppies. Alongside my colleagues on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which includes the wise counsel of the hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Dr Hudson), I heard harrowing evidence about the malice of puppy smugglers and the contempt with which they treat litters, and especially the mothers of those litters: caesarean sections are carried out inhumanely quickly one after the other, leaving insufficient time to heal. It is an egregious, greedy trade. The Government have an opportunity to address this issue, which is of real concern to ordinary members of the public.
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The debate feels particularly timely for two reasons. Colleagues will be aware that this is Pet Theft Awareness Week. I have specific concerns relating to the impact that the coronavirus has had on pet owners like me, and I am sure they will be echoed by others. Given that we are all increasingly spending more time out walking in our local areas, I know that, sadly, some places have seen rises in opportunistic pet thefts. I will touch on that worrying trend in my contribution.
In addition, it would seem foolish not to reference the dialogue around the issues relating to violence and abuse towards women and girls that has grown in recent weeks. There is little research connecting domestic violence with animal abuse, but thankfully this is an area of growing academic interest. We now know that pet dogs and cats are at high risk in abusive households as perpetrators direct their anger at them and use them to manipulate and control their human victims.
I am sure colleagues agree that we need to be having those conversations around welfare—whether human or animal-related—regularly in this place. It is vital that regulation and law enforcement are considered key parts of that conversation, too. I specifically look forward to hearing from the Minister about the cross-departmental work and conversations that I sincerely hope are taking place with her colleagues in the Home Office on how to tackle issues specific to crimes against animal welfare.
It is often said with great pride that we are a nation of animal lovers. From old tropes connecting Great Britain with the British bulldog to the jokes made far too often about sheep and Wales—none of which I will reference here today; I am sure colleagues can use their imagination —it cannot be denied that animals big and small are at the very heart of our global identity. That is certainly the case in my constituency of Pontypridd, and I would be hard-pressed to find a Welsh valleys resident who was not at least a lover of cats or dogs.
Obviously, no debate on animal welfare would be complete without reference to my own two gorgeous Jack Russells, Dotty and Dora. I got them when they were just a few weeks old, and in September they will both turn nine. They have truly seen me through thick and thin, the good and the bad. Family aside, they really are my world. If anything, coronavirus has made our bond stronger than ever before, and I know that sentiment is shared by many others in my community.
Since I was elected in December 2019, I have received more emails from constituents concerned in one way or another about animal welfare than I have on any other topic—second only to inquiries about coronavirus. They cover a huge range, dealing with badger culling, puppy smuggling, fur imports and concern about bee-killing pesticides. In applying for the debate, I wanted an opportunity to touch on some of the ways the coronavirus epidemic has had an impact on animal welfare across the country.
For many of us, the pandemic has meant that we could spend more time than ever before with our pets. For Dotty and Dora, that has been a wonderful thing. I am lucky to be surrounded by the gorgeous Welsh valleys and to have plenty of open space to take my two out and about whenever possible. It is one of the only benefits that the coronavirus pandemic has brought us, I think—the opportunity to spend time with family and pets.
Sadly, for other animals the coronavirus pandemic has been anything but a good thing. During the first lockdown, calls to the RSPCA’s national cruelty and advice lines halved from their 2019 level. At face value, that sounds like a good thing, but on looking at the stats in detail we can see a worrying picture developing. There are concerns from the sector that that was simply because lockdown meant people did not see incidents of neglect or cruelty as they usually would. When restrictions began to be lifted, from May to July, the number of calls to the RSPCA rose above 2019 levels, and there are concerns that we have not yet seen the real impact of the pandemic on domestic animals.
Another worrying trend is the fact that there have been significant increases in the demand for animals, as more people than ever before have seen the benefit of having pets, especially when we are all spending so much time at home. Research conducted by Battersea Dogs & Cats Home found that 31% of people who acquired a dog or cat during the first lockdown had not even thought of becoming pet owners before. Its research also found that online searches about buying a dog increased by about 217% between February and April 2020.
Given the heightened demand for animals during the lockdown, there has been a rapid increase in the number of dogs entering the country for commercial reasons. Some of the recent responses to written parliamentary questions have revealed that the number of intra-trade animal health certificates issued for dogs from May to August 2020 was almost 16,000. That is double the figure for the same period in 2019.
Animal welfare groups also, justifiably, have major concerns about puppy smuggling, where animals are illegally transported into the UK in horrendous conditions. Puppies are often bred in terrible conditions and are taken away from their mums at increasingly early ages. They then face a perilous 33-hour journey to the UK, often with no food, little water and no exercise. Recent research from Dogs Trust has also found that, increasingly, heavily pregnant dogs are being imported into the UK, often at the late stage of their pregnancies, in order to circumvent the ban on commercial third-party puppy sales, which came into force in England in April last year.
The Government have a responsibility to act to stop these barbaric practices, and I urge the Minister to work with charities that have the expertise in this area to achieve lasting change for our four-legged friends. Although I am pleased to see that the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill just about managed to clear Report stage in the Commons on Friday, and I congratulate the hon. Member for West Dorset (Chris Loder) on his fantastic work campaigning on this issue, without the adequate funding and support, how are the police supposed to enforce such changes to the law? I recognise that policing and enforcement are not a key responsibility of the Minister’s Department, but I am discouraged by responses that I have received from her colleague, Lord Goldsmith, on this particular issue.
We all know and recognise the importance of an inter-agency, Government departmental approach to tackling social issues, and the policing and enforcement of these abhorrent crimes against animals should be no different. Indeed, I remind the Minister that since 2010, the number of police officers in our forces across England and Wales has fallen by more than 14%. Worryingly, we also now find ourselves with one of the lowest ratios of police officers per 100,000 inhabitants compared with our friends in the EU.
Estimates suggest that the current scale of the increase in the backlog of cases before our courts would take 10 years to clear at pre-pandemic rates. That is clearly outrageous, and I shudder to think of the impact that that will have on the victims of crime in this country, who will be forced to wait years for their day in court. What does this really mean for animal cruelty cases? Well, I suspect that, with our courts and police forces stretched beyond breaking point, there simply will not be capacity to deal with the animal cruelty offences.
Throughout the pandemic, we have seen that there is one rule for them and another for us. When the Prime Minister’s special adviser, Dominic Cummings, drove across the country with symptoms of coronavirus, the rest of us were struggling through lockdown at home—obeying the rules. The same was true with the Government’s absurd exemption to the coronavirus rule of six for hunting in autumn 2020. Not only that, but over Christmas, when so many of us were unable to spend time with our families after a difficult year because of the pandemic, the Tory Government introduced yet another exemption to enable Boxing day hunts to take place. It is no surprise when you find out that the Tories and the Prime Minister have taken more than £1 million from donors linked to hunting. If that does not tell you what this Government think about animal welfare, I do not know what does.
Still, after years of campaigning from animal rights groups, the import of so-called hunting trophies into the UK is legal, as long as the animal is licensed under the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora. However, the trade is exacerbating the decline of threatened species and is causing unnecessary suffering to animals. Even worse, it is often being used as a cover for illegal poaching, as traffickers pass off illegal wildlife products as legal.
I welcome the UK Government’s decision to hold a consultation on options to restrict the import and export of hunting trophies into the UK, but the consultation closed on 25 February 2020. It has been over a year since the consultation closed and still the Government have not responded. I implore the Minister to confirm when her Department will formally respond to the consultation, and I look forward to an update in her remarks later.
I am afraid to say that this is not the only area where the UK Government have been too slow to act. Three years ago, the Government promised, after much pressure from public and animal welfare organisations, to include animal sentience legislation in law after Brexit. Well, the transition period has now ended and still no legislation is forthcoming from the Government. What we need now is action, and I fear we are simply stuck in a climate of consultations. I look forward to hearing in the Minister’s update how the Government plan to bring forward legislation on animal welfare protections beyond the current parliamentary Session.
For the animal welfare sector, which works so hard to ensure that every animal lives in a safe and loving home, the pandemic has, of course, sadly brought its own set of financial challenges. Indeed, research by the brilliant Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, which has partnered with the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes to conduct a survey of over 100 centres in January this year, found that nine out of 10 rescue centres had experienced a drop in income, with a third losing over half of their income. According to the RSPCA, the total predicted financial loss for the sector was over £101 million for 2020. Like so many sectors up and down the country, animal welfare charities need specific support from the UK Government in order to survive the coronavirus pandemic.
I sincerely wish, on behalf of animals in need across England, that the UK Government showed a level of commitment to providing funding for charities in line with the support on offer from the fantastic Welsh Labour Government. In Wales, our Welsh Labour Government have ensured that animal welfare charities have access to emergency funding grants, including local authority rates grants, the third sector resilience fund, the voluntary services recovery fund and sector-specific funds via Business Wales. Sadly, it is not the same for colleagues in England, where funding for charities has largely been given to national funders for distribution, such as the National Lottery, which often excludes animal welfare charities.
I have said it before and I say it again: I urge the Minister, if she is serious about animal welfare, to consider following the approach in Wales and to work with colleagues in Her Majesty’s Treasury to provide access to funding for the charities that need it the most. Indeed, I am aware that the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes has specifically lobbied her Department for sector-specific funding—but that has not been forthcoming, despite zoos and aquariums being awarded such funding.
It is also somewhat ironic that the greyhound racing industry was awarded emergency funding through the sports package. That sends a clear message to me and to others across the country that the Government are willing to engage in animal-related pursuits, but only when there is a gain to be made. Hunting and greyhound racing are two examples of such pursuits that put animals at great risk, yet both appear to have the support of the UK Government.
I conclude by referring to two specific animal welfare concerns that I truly believe the Minister’s Department needs to pay close attention to. First, she may be aware of the alarming rise in the number of ear-cropped dogs in the UK. I am sure she knows that the practice of ear cropping is illegal in the UK—quite rightly. The barbaric practice involves the unnecessary and painful mutilation of ear flaps, and often takes place without anaesthesia or pain relief. I should clarify that it also has absolutely no welfare benefit. However, the RSPCA has reported a 621% increase in reports of ear cropping between 2015 to 2020.
Although it is illegal to crop dogs’ ears in the UK, it is not illegal to sell ear-cropped dogs, to import them from abroad, or to take dogs abroad to be cropped. These loopholes act as a smokescreen for those who are illegally cropping dogs in the UK. Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic and the overall increase in demand for dogs and puppies have led to an increase in demand for dogs with cropped ears. These are often Dobermans or American Bullies. Hope Rescue, which I referred to earlier, currently has eight seized puppies from their local area, and six of the eight have cropped ears. This issue really is closer to us than many people may imagine or understand.
Indeed, the Minister may be aware of the petition, which is currently live, to stop this barbaric practice. At the moment, it has more than 67,000 signatures, which just goes to show the widespread feeling about it. I am proud that Hope Rescue is partnering with the “Flop Don’t Crop” campaign, but really things should not be happening this way.
It would also be remiss of me, in a debate on animal welfare, not to mention breed-specific legislation. Too many harmless dogs are being destroyed simply because they are a banned breed—they are destroyed because of what they look like, regardless of their temperament. We must recognise that all dogs can bite and that any animal can be dangerous in the wrong hands, regardless of breed or type, or the fact that they look a certain way. Any action to tackle dog bites and all other instances of canine aggression must be focused on the deed, not the breed.
The RSPCA believes that breed-specific legislation is ineffective in protecting public safety, and results in the unnecessary suffering and even the euthanasia of many dogs. It believes that breed-specific legislation should be repealed and that the issues surrounding human safety should be tackled using education and effective legislative measures that do not unnecessarily compromise dog welfare. Sadly, to comply with the current legislation, the RSPCA has had to euthanise hundreds of dogs, and many other rescue centres have had to do the same. Many of these dogs would have been suitable for rehoming.
I am particularly looking forward to hearing the Minister’s specific comments about what her Department is doing to work with local authorities and law enforcement organisations to review the current legislation and to prevent the barbaric practice of ear cropping.
Taken together, it is clear to me that the issues raised in this debate show the urgent need for a comprehensive animal welfare Bill to be introduced by the Government, yet legislation is only a stepping stone to solving the issues that we see far too often with the regulation of animal welfare practices. Parcelling up individual policy ideas into announcements might work well for the Government’s press office, but it does not truly address the animal welfare problems in this country.
With a Queen’s Speech just around the corner, I urge the Minister to bring forward specific legislation on this issue and, crucially, to ensure that police, courts and local authorities are properly funded to ensure that such legislation is enforced.
Diolch.
The Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on which I sit, is conducting an inquiry into the movement of animals across borders and will look at many of these issues. Sadly, there has been a significant increase in reports of theft of both domestic animals, such as pets, and livestock and horses. There have been reports from various police authorities of the increase in domestic abuse throughout the crisis. Sadly, we know the link between domestic abuse and animal abuse in certain households. That has significant animal welfare implications.
There are concerns that we are potentially storing up problems. People who have taken on animals or are looking after them may have been slow to bring their animals for vaccination. There has been a reported reduction in the number of neutering surgeries. Animals that have been taken on, such as puppies, may also have had reduced socialisation, which could lead to future behavioural problems.
As we come through the crisis, animal charities have expressed fears about significant abandonment of animals. People who thought this was a good time to take on a pet might not have thought through the implications or financial cost, with the potential for increased abandonment. As we get society back to normal, people return to the workplace and kids go back to school, stored-up behavioural issues for animals are possible, such as the syndrome known as separation anxiety. We need to be cognisant of that.
Charities and rescue centres have struggled during the crisis. Their funding sources have been reduced alongside their fundraising capability. Some have been able to find support through the generous Government schemes instituted through the crisis, but we need to keep an eye on that, to ensure that targeted support can be made available. This is not just an issue of small animals—cats, dogs and pets. Equine welfare charities estimate that at the start of 2020, approximately 7,000 horses were at risk of imminent need of rescue. That could have escalated to more than 10,000 by the end of the year.
We need to think about the take-home messages from this crisis. We need to keep an eye on the charitable sector and ensure that there is targeted support for animal welfare charities to deliver the care that may be needed as we come through the crisis. I look forward to hearing from the Minister on the role that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will take in keeping a watching brief on this area for any unintended consequences, and any animal health and welfare issues that may have been stored up through the crisis.
We also need to think about tightening legislation. As the hon. Member for Pontypridd said, we all welcome the fact that the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill is progressing to the other place. That is fantastic news and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Chris Loder) on championing that Bill. With increased sentences for animal cruelty, we also need to work out whether there are better ways of deterring people from pet and animal theft. We need to look at sentencing there.
There is scope to tighten up rules and legislation now that we have left the European Union. I ask the Government to look at this closely, so that we have a real opportunity to improve the health and welfare of animals that are moved around, and of animals in our own country. I suggest that we look at raising the minimum age at which cats and dogs can be brought into the country to six months. We also need to be able to tighten the health requirements of animals as they are moved into the country and reinstate, for instance, the mandatory tick treatment that was abolished a few years ago, which will improve the animal health and welfare status of animals in the United Kingdom.
As we have seen, there have been significant challenges to animal health and welfare during the coronavirus crisis. We need to learn the lessons from that and see if we can put in place measures to improve animal health and welfare. We need to monitor the situation closely and keep a watching brief on the care of the animals that we have a moral duty to look after—these fully sentient beings that we are so privileged to look after.
We also know that having a dog and a cat can incur costs that may not have been considered at the outset. The Battersea Dogs and Cats Home estimates that 19% of new pet owners come to regret their decision to acquire a pet, mainly because of costs. Unfortunately, the demand for puppies during covid has also been exploited by those engaged in puppy smuggling. We know that puppy smuggling causes great distress to puppies, and is damaging to them. My view is that the barbaric practice is so lucrative that nothing but the potential threat of a significant custodial sentence for the crime can realistically hope to help mitigate the growing problem.
It is also worth considering the challenges that people faced in accessing and financing veterinary care during the pandemic, as we heard earlier. Lockdown limited access to veterinary care, which means that there is a backlog of neutering, and vaccination courses for pets have been disrupted. Even when those normal services resume, we cannot assume that every dog owner—however well-intentioned—will be able to afford the cost of veterinary care for their pet as they perhaps once could. Delays in accessing treatments for pets, or an inability to afford it, could have real longer-term implications for the overall health of pets. That is an especially significant issue for cats, as it could lead to much higher numbers of unwanted litters.
Charities that work hard to improve animal welfare are under pressure, and they will be dealing with the fall-out for years to come as the consequences are all too real. The Paws Protect service of Cats Protection, which supports survivors of domestic abuse and their cats, found that it simply could not cope with all the referrals to its service during 2020. Yet, as we have heard, the link between domestic abuse and animal abuse is well established. Indeed, pet cats and dogs are at high risk in abusive households, as perpetrators direct their anger at pets and use them to manipulate their victims.
Just as animal welfare charities have found that their services are more in demand than ever, the opportunities for traditional fundraising have all but disappeared, and their income stream has been very seriously curtailed. Charity shops are closed, which meant the loss of £4 million in the first four months of shop closures in 2020 for Cats Protection. That income can never be recovered, as all fundraising adventure challenges were cancelled as well, and there were fewer and fewer opportunities for cat adoption and the fees derived from that.
We are all concerned about the negative impacts on animal welfare as a result of covid-19, so today seems like a good day to highlight to the Minister what can be done about it. For a start, animal welfare charities could be helped: we know they will be under severe strain in the months and years following lockdown as they deal with the animal welfare crisis. The fallout from covid looks all too set to continue, so it is really important that the Government work with animal welfare charities to see how they can better support the work that those charities currently do, as well as all the additional work the sector will face as we return to some kind of normality.
Underpinning all that is the need to ensure that the high standards we all wish to see are a feature of our trade deals. During the passage of the Agriculture Act 2020 and of the Trade Bill, the SNP fought to ensure that imported foods had to match our high animal welfare and safety standards in domestic produce to ensure that our farmers are not undercut by low-quality and low-grade animal welfare regulations. Instead, foreign traders with lower animal welfare standards, and consequently lower costs, may have a competitive advantage now and in the future over our own farmers.
A race to the bottom does not promote the high standards of animal welfare that we all want, including, of course, for the sake of the food that we eat—we surely cannot have forgotten the risk of damage to our foods posed by compromising on animal welfare—and to militate against diseases such as foot and mouth disease and swine flu. It is really important that the Government lobby through international bodies to pressure countries to upgrade their animal welfare regulations, to avoid the potential of disease outbreaks crippling our domestic standards in trade deals.
Since 2015, when I was elected to this place, I have been calling for tougher penalties for animal cruelty. The Scottish Government agreed, and have enshrined tougher penalties for animal cruelty into law, with a maximum five-year sentence and unlimited fines. It really is time for the UK Government to get this on the statute books as well, as soon as possible, because they have fallen behind in that regard. Covid-19 has been hard on all of us, but the consequences for the animal welfare charitable sector have been devastating. We must do more to support the vital work undertaken by animal welfare charities, and I very much look forward to hearing from the Minister as to how she intends to do so.
Another grave concern is domestic violence. Being shut up at home in lockdown with an abusive partner can, of course, lead to horrific and frightening consequences for women, and it is very sad that such situations can also lead to horrendous treatment of pets.
In conclusion, I hope the Minister will listen to what has been said today and to the animal welfare charities and campaign groups. It is crucial that the Government find a way for big charity fundraising events to start up again. The cancellation of the London marathon alone will have left a huge dent in charitable fundraising. We have to get these events open again with spectators and mass participants.
I also call on the Government always to emphasise the benefits of people getting a pet from a rescue centre, rather than taking risks with unreliable online sources. We also need to see determined action to crack down on pet theft, reflecting the fact that the loss of an animal is far more heartbreaking, distressing and upsetting than having a phone or TV stolen. Now we have left the European Union, we have an opportunity to crack down on unlawful puppy imports, as we are now allowed to place tougher restrictions on imports that were previously barred by the single market. It is vital that we fulfil our promise to get recognition of animal sentience on the statute book.
Last, but possibly the most important of all, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill must finally be implemented. It has had such a depressing stop-start history. How many times has it started in this House—three or four times? It is time to get this done. It is a great opportunity for us to discuss these issues and I look forward to the Minister’s response. I know this Government are really serious about animal welfare. They have done good work, but there is really vital work still to be done.
My hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border knows far more about these issues than me, but there has been much consultation on this, and I genuinely believe this is a matter of animal welfare that the Government can support. The protection of innocent dogs is something we all want to see strengthened within legislation, and clearly the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill is an absolute prerequisite in terms of statutory provision for animals.
I was a criminal defence solicitor for 16 years before coming to Parliament. The sentences in court for animal welfare offences were ludicrously lenient for many, many years, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Chris Loder) for the work he has done in this Parliament on that issue.
Other Members have articulated the case that many pets have been purchased over the period of the pandemic, and many people who bought their pets in good faith are finding it difficult to cope with those animals for a wide variety of reasons. The role of Tuk’s law is to strengthen and protect the interests of every animal—whether a stray animal or animal that has been bought, perhaps mistakenly, during the pandemic, or an animal that the owners cannot cope with—to make sure that there is a requirement that the microchip is scanned, that contact details are sought, and every animal is protected.
I would also like to talk about Gizmo’s law. The first person I met after being elected was a wonderful lady called Helena Abrahams, who spent the last number of years leading a campaign for Gizmo’s law. Gizmo’s law is a very simple, cost-neutral measure to respect pet cats in both life and death. Sadly, many pet cats—and other pets—die on our roads and in various other circumstances. When they are found they are often taken to local authorities, which dispose of those pets without scanning the microchips that they may have, and without trying to establish the ownership of a much-loved pet.
Helena, whom—this is very unparliamentary language —I love to death, is passionate about wanting to make sure that those pets are respected and that animal welfare rights are respected, and that the owners have the opportunity to be reunited with their pets in these difficult circumstances. She has fought a campaign in which she has persuaded a very large pet-food manufacturer to undertake to purchase scanners for every local authority in the country to ensure that this is a cost-neutral measure.
I have taken the opportunity today to support everything that my colleagues have said. We need to face up to the realities of the pandemic and its negative impact on many facets of the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill. I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister will wish to take the opportunity to support my private Member’s Bill, to support the hundreds of thousands of people who want to put Tuk’s law and Gizmo’s law into legislation, and feel that it is an animal welfare measure that all of us can support across the political spectrum. I welcome any further opportunity to speak on this matter with the excellent Minister.
Puppy demand and prices experienced an extraordinary jump following the covid outbreak. That, in turn, led to a 140% increase in commercial import licences for foreign dog breeders. It is important to note that not all foreign dog breeders are breaching animal welfare standards en masse. Likewise, it is important to acknowledge that there are instances of breeders breaching standards on these British Isles. Taken together at home and abroad, this issue is of significant concern to my Angus constituents, as is the horrendous spike in dog thefts, which is terrifying for families with dogs.
As a dog owner myself, I know the importance of dogs to families across the UK, and the place that they hold in the hearts of the British public. The difference that my beautiful old golden retriever, Maggie, has made to my family during lockdown has been invaluable—she ensures that we get exercise and she provides companionship. It is no wonder that people have sought similar comfort and enjoyment from having a pet.
I was delighted to support the excellent work of Dogs Trust, which provided information to hon. Members before the debate. The Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reported that a gang of puppy smugglers were arrested following the use of an Airbnb property to sell trafficked puppies. There is a significant element of duplicity in the trade. Half those puppies died, including from parvovirus, because of the squalid conditions in which those poor creatures must have spent their brutish, short lives. That poses a more general risk to dog health in the community.
One SSPCA investigator noted that public demand for puppies
“remains sky high and as long as this continues, bad dealers will find any means to operate.”
Dogs Trust also noted that the effects and impact of the pandemic would be felt for some time to come. That is true for all walks of life, but in this context, it would be sensible for Government to carefully consider the Blue Cross recommendation that Governments undertake work to determine the impact of covid-19 on puppy farming and smuggling, the damage caused to date, and how to reverse that trend.
The demand for puppies fuelled the unsustainable rise in prices, and for families duped into buying a puppy from an unreputable breeder, that causes significant financial loss, as well as heartache. We have seen an apparent increase in impulse purchases: 31% of people who acquired a dog or a cat during the first lockdown stated that they were not considering becoming pet owners beforehand. Although the great majority of recent pet owners will go on to provide safe and loving homes for their pets, that spike in ownership presents a clear risk that, for some, the good intentions will give way to the financial reality—not least the first uninsured visit to the vet for health complaints which, if the animal was poorly bred, may be the first of many visits to the vet.
That will inevitably lead to increased health and behavioural problems. Puppies that were introduced to their families with an abundance of affection and attention during lockdown will need careful management when adults return to work and kids go back to school. It will be a very demanding adjustment for animals and humans alike, which will have consequences, including abandonment and pressure on rehoming services. When the consequences of poorly bred dogs or inappropriate and unsustainable ownership or changes in circumstance post lockdown wash out, it will be animal welfare charities that have to pick up the pieces, at a time when their ability to fundraise is seriously constrained, which we must all bear in mind.
There is significant scope for the UK Government to tighten the licensing regime for foreign dog breeders importing puppies into the UK and for the UK Government to work together with devolved Administrations on better regulation for domestic breeders. I look forward to the Minister’s reassurance in this regard.
Covid-19: Animal Welfare · Order Paper · Order Paper