§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I am pleased to announce today the publication of the draft Animal Welfare Bill.
The draft Bill seeks to consolidate and modernise over 20 pieces of animal welfare legislation relating to farmed and non-farmed animals, some of which date back to 1911. It follows a public consultation held in 2002, and meetings with over 100 welfare organisations, professional veterinary associations and industry groups.
62WSThe Bill introduces into our law a clear definition of cruelty against an animal and provides the courts, the police and government law enforcement agencies with the powers that are needed to deal effectively with people who ill treat or neglect animals in their care. The Bill also extends a duty to promote animal welfare—currently present in farmed animal legislation to all animal keepers. This will mean that all domestic or captive animals must be cared for in accordance with good animal husbandry practices and the best available scientific knowledge concerning welfare needs. This is a major improvement to current welfare laws which are often based on the view that good welfare is about taking action after an animal has suffered.
The Bill will also provide powers to introduce secondary legislation and codes of practice to protect the welfare of non-farmed animals kept by man. This enabling power is already available for farmed animals and our aim is to ensure that in future all domestic and captive animals will be protected by legislation that can be easily revised to take account of changing welfare needs and increased scientific knowledge.
Copies of the draft Animal Welfare Bill are available in the Printed Paper Office and the Libraries of the House.
Copies are also available on the Stationery Office website at http://www.officialdocuments.co.uk/ document/cm62/6252/6252.htm.