Dog Licensing

Lord Hoyle Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2014 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Hoyle]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to reintroduce a dog licensing fee.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord De Mauley) (Con)]

My Lords, we have no plans to reintroduce the dog licence. The previous dog licensing scheme ceased in 1987 because it cost more to run than it took in revenue, due in part to the low compliance rate of around 40%.

[Lord Hoyle (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for that reply, but I am sure he will agree with me that this is probably the right time to raise this Question, particularly when people get a dog or a puppy for Christmas, then find it very demanding and turn it out at a later date. I remind the noble Lord that in 2010 70% of those canvassed favoured a return to a dog licensing scheme. Does he know that there is one in Northern Ireland? It functions very well and almost 100% of dogs are microchipped? Dog wardens have more control over the people who own dangerous dogs. Why cannot we follow the example set by Northern Ireland?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, I know that the noble Lord is a staunch campaigner on doggie matters. What we are doing—he referred to this—and which goes a long way to achieving what people want from a licensing scheme, is introducing compulsory microchipping under which the record of a dog’s ownership will be maintained on a database.

EU: Regulation on Chemicals

Lord Hoyle Excerpts

Wednesday 27th November 2013 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Hoyle]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to meet the requirements of the European Union Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord De Mauley) (Con)]

My Lords, we recognise the concerns, particularly of small businesses, about burdens arising from the EU regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals. We welcome the recommendations for better guidance for small businesses in the recent report of the Prime Minister’s business task force. These closely reflect the work that we have been doing to bring together those interested, including the Commission and UK industry, to develop guidance that is more focused and relevant to SMEs.

[Lord Hoyle (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for that reply. I know that he is very knowledgeable and has a lot of expertise in this matter so perhaps I may ask him to spell out in a little more detail, in relation to SMEs, whether they will they be given financial assistance; whether they will be allowed to use these substances until alternatives are brought forward; how this will be licensed; and whether they will have the right of appeal.

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, it would take me quite a while to answer all those questions properly. However, in the context of the financial question he asked, there are two aspects to this—the first is about fair cost-sharing, and the second about fee levels. Businesses tell us that a major concern is the lack of transparent and fair cost -sharing when companies are pooling data on the same substance. As a result, that was the top recommendation for helping SMEs in the review report. There is a commitment across the board to sort that out, and we are playing a major role in it. As regards fee levels—that is, for fees payable to the European Chemicals Agency—the revised fee levels were voted through by the UK and other member states and came into force in March. They mean that the smallest companies are now eligible for fee discounts of up to 95%, which can mean a one-off registration fee of as little as €64.

Animal Welfare: Cats and Dogs

Lord Hoyle Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hoyle (Lab)]

My Lords, in opening I wish to say something that may be considered trite but which is nevertheless true. There is no such thing as a bad dog; what we have are bad owners. It is worth stressing that particularly now, coming up to Christmas time, when many people bring in pets that they believe they will love for life and then find out that the pets are difficult and tiring and need a lot of work. It is right that we are having this debate at this time and I congratulate the noble Lord on tabling his Question. While we may not want pets to be treated in that way, it will happen and a few months after Christmas there will be a lot more dogs and cats put out on the street. The emphasis being placed on this issue tonight will be helpful for the future.

I am also concerned about the breeding of fighting dogs. Perhaps the Minister can help me on this: why is the law not enforced more vigorously? For instance, I would like to know how many people have been prosecuted in the past 10 years for breeding fighting dogs. What about the people who organise the dog fights at which betting takes place? How many of those have been prosecuted? These are the problems that we need to look at, particularly when a good breed such as the Staffordshire bull terrier, which can be a lovable dog and a good family dog, is used in this way. Owners, particularly in London, use the dogs for their own protection. We ought to give attention to that in this debate.

The number of incidents involving injuries caused in attacks by dogs that are out of control has increased by 94% in the past 10 years. That is a very large increase. The number of people who have died since 2005 as a result of attacks by dogs totals 16. That is an increase to which we must pay attention. I was pleased that the noble Lord mentioned attacks by dogs on cats because it is nearly always fatal for them—and when it is not fatal, the cat is often badly damaged and frightened, and becomes even more timid about going out. That is another matter to which we must pay attention. I emphasise that this is about people and how they deal with their animals.

Another aspect is the illegal importing of dogs and cats. I hope the Minister will pay some attention to that because we need to zone in on it and try to prevent it happening.

It cannot be emphasised too much that one of the main priorities is that cats and dogs should be neutered whenever possible, and a national neutering day would be a very good idea. We must get through to people; why should there be unnecessary puppies and kittens, a lot of which come as a result of people who do not understand the importance of having their animals neutered? I join in paying tribute to the charities that are doing a wonderful job in providing neutering for no cost, which is encouragement in itself. Anything that we can do in that regard would be helpful.

Of increasing importance is the fact that more and more people are going overseas on their holidays and are putting their dogs and cats into kennels and catteries. We must try to ensure that these institutions and the people who run them are of a high standard. Many of them are—in fact the vast majority are and the people who run them do so because of their interest in animals. However, in many places the conditions are not as good as they ought to be. We ought to express an interest in that and do what we can to improve the standard of care that is provided by kennels and catteries. Let us try to bring them all up to the standard of those that are doing their best and are outstanding in that work.

Finally, because my time is up, how effective has the Animal Welfare Act 2006 been? I should like the Minister to comment because we can do an awful lot to improve the lot of our animal friends, who, as the noble Lord said, are important to all of us here—not only those of us taking part in the debate but millions of pet owners outside. I thank the noble Lord for raising this matter.

Bees

Lord Hoyle Excerpts

Tuesday 30th July 2013 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Hoyle]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will implement the European Commission decision to restrict the use of neonicotinoid pesticides to protect bees.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord De Mauley)]

My Lords, the European Commission implementing regulation requires the new restrictions to be in place by 1 December 2013. We will introduce the restrictions from that date.

[Lord Hoyle]

Will all these chemicals be monitored? Will the Minister also condemn those commercial interests which are introducing foreign bees with parasites that are damaging our own species?

Badgers

Lord Hoyle Excerpts

Tuesday 11th December 2012 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Lord Hoyle]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what further plans they have to cull badgers.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord De Mauley)]

My Lords, badger culling is part of a package of measures to tackle bovine TB. The policy will be piloted, initially in two areas, during the summer of 2013 to confirm our assumptions about the effectiveness, humaneness and safety of controlled shooting. An independent panel of experts will oversee and evaluate the monitoring of the pilots and report back to government; only then will Ministers decide whether the policy should be rolled out more widely.

[Lord Hoyle]

I thank the Minister for his reply. However, scientific evidence conducted over 10 years says that the killing of badgers makes hardly any difference—indeed, no difference—and in fact eminent scientists say that it makes it worse. In view of that, will he now follow the Welsh Assembly and decide on a policy of vaccination rather than elimination?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, the noble Lord and I will disagree on the science. Ultimately, of course, we want to be able to use vaccination both for cattle and for badgers, and we are investing in this option through extensive research and development. However, there are practical difficulties with the injectable badger vaccine, which the noble Lord refers to as being used in Wales and which right now is the only available option. The difficulties involved include the need for each badger to be trapped and the fact that vaccination does not appear to cure already infected badgers, along with the cost and the fact that it has to be repeated every year.

Dogs: Microchipping

Lord Hoyle Excerpts

Wednesday 8th February 2012 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Hoyle]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will introduce the compulsory microchipping of dogs.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Taylor of Holbeach)]

My Lords, we are close to finalising a package of measures to tackle irresponsible dog owners, and intend to make an announcement soon. In putting the package together, we have considered and set out the pros and cons of various approaches towards compulsorily microchipping dogs. The final package will cover future government handling of the issue, as well as plans to improve standards of dog ownership.

[Lord Hoyle]

I thank the Minister for that reply. It is very helpful in itself. Taking the old adage that there are no bad dogs, just bad owners, microchipping would certainly make for more responsible dog ownership. It would also make it easier for dogs that have strayed to be found by their owners. It would cut down on the number of stolen dogs. As a Government who are seeking popularity, it would be highly popular, as 83 per cent of the public who have been surveyed support this.

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I am very grateful to the noble Lord for his support for what may indeed be included in the package. It might help the House to know that the cost of rehoming each stray is £1,100. The economic cost to this country of irresponsible dog ownership is enormous, let alone the human damage that can be caused by out-of-control dogs.

Agriculture: Pigs

Lord Hoyle Excerpts

Monday 21st March 2011 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Lord Hoyle]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what help they are giving to British pig farmers.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Henley)]

We are committed to supporting and developing all British farming. This includes working with the pig industry to build on progress by the pig meat task force to improve relationships between farmers and retailers. At an EU level, we are working to improve the situation for producers in the medium term, including discussions in the Commission’s new enlarged pig meat advisory group.

[Lord Hoyle]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Is he aware that pig producers are losing £20 on every pig sold, that the industry as a whole is losing £3 million per week and that at the same time supermarkets are making £60 million a week and processors are making £8 million per week? When are the Government going to set up a grocery ombudsman whose job will be not only to protect consumers but to ensure that producers, such as British pig producers, get a fair price for their product?

[Lord Henley]

My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord for raising his Question. He is quite right to point to problems that the pig industry is facing as a result of the rise in the price of cereals and oil and the fact that our welfare standards, of which we ought to be very proud in this country, are a lot higher than elsewhere. As regards his principal question about the grocery code adjudicator, we have made it clear on a number of occasions in this House and in another place that we intend to bring forward legislation to create a grocery code adjudicator. We hope that we will be able to produce draft legislation later this year and take things further forward as we discuss that draft legislation.