§ Sir Bernard Braineasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the light of the reaction of the animal welfare community to the White Paper, Cmnd. 9571, what progress has been made in regard to further regulation of licensing procedures affecting animals other than farm livestock and wildlife, with particular reference to breeding and boarding establishments and pet shops.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggA number of animal welfare Acts were reviewed as part of the Government's deregulation exercise, reported in Cmnd. 9591 of July 1986 "Lifting the Burden". We have found no basis for any change which would lead to a lessening of the protection afforded to animals by the legislation. During the course of the review a number of suggestions were made for strengthening the legislation and its enforcement. We pay very serious regard to these measures for protecting animal welfare and we are therefore in the process of giving close and careful scrutiny to the suggestions.