Rural Crime
Debate between Lord Blencathra and Lord Davies of Gower
Lord Davies of Gower (Con)
I accept what the noble Lord says about dog attacks on sheep. Very careful consideration was given to the potential unintended consequences of introducing a ban on the use of hand- controlled e-collars for cats and dogs. Defra liaised closely with police forces, which reported that the vast majority of livestock-worrying cases that they saw involved dogs that had escaped from the premises in which they were kept without their owners knowing. The police were also clear that they would not recommend the use of e-collars to prevent instances of livestock worrying.
Lord Blencathra (Con)
My Lords, my noble friend mentioned the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill. I invite the right reverend Prelate to be present this Friday when we hope to push through its Third Reading. It will make a tremendous difference to theft in the countryside. By fitting immobilisers to equipment, we should cut down on theft in the first place, and with the forensic marking of that equipment it should be much easier to restore it to the rightful owner. Once my noble friend has finished the consultation process, will he please bring forward the implementation regulations as soon as possible and extend them to other machinery, possibly in the construction trade?
Lord Davies of Gower (Con)
I thank my noble friend for his question and congratulate him on taking his Private Member’s Bill through the House. The Government welcome the support the Bill has received in this House and the other place. We expect to see a real decrease in the theft of all-terrain vehicles as a result of the measures in it. The introduction of immobilisers and forensic marking as standard will help prevent them being stolen. Importantly, it will be harder for criminals to sell on stolen machinery, which will have a deterrent effect.