Dog Licensing

Baroness Fookes Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

I think the noble Lord will accept that that is somewhat wide of the Question.

[Baroness Fookes (Con)]

My Lords, I sought in vain to introduce a dog registration scheme allied to microchipping in the mid-1980s. Can my noble friend expand on exactly what the Government plan to do now? He referred to it only briefly.

Japan: Dolphins

Baroness Fookes Excerpts

Tuesday 4th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, the issue is indeed of concern to a number of EU member states, and was discussed at the EU CITES management meeting in December. We continue to consider what measures the EU can take. For example, parties to CITES can place a reservation on a species, which means that they are not bound by the CITES controls relating to that species. We will, through the EU, continue to encourage countries such as Japan and others to withdraw their reservations on, for example, whale species.

[Baroness Fookes (Con)]

My Lords, are the Government co-operating with the various animal welfare societies in this country, which feel very strongly about this, not least the Japan Animal Welfare Society, of which I have the honour to be patron?

[Lord De Mauley]

I pay tribute to my noble friend for all the work she does for animal welfare. I agree with her that the pressure which animal welfare organisations can bring to bear in situations such as these is often more effective, frankly, than that of Governments.

Animal Welfare: Cats and Dogs

Baroness Fookes Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Fookes (Con)]

My Lords, before I get launched and forget, I must declare an interest as a vice-president of the RSPCA and president of one of its local branches. I also chair a charity that seeks to raise funds and channel them to the Companion Animal Welfare Council, which was set up originally by my noble friend Lord Soulsby and others, with the object of providing expert advisory guidance on all matters relating to companion animals. The idea of the noble Lord, Lord Soulsby, was that eventually it would become like the Farm Animal Welfare Council, with some government support. Unfortunately, finances are such that this has never happened. Indeed, we are now finding it difficult to raise funds, at a time when it is so difficult for all the animal welfare charities that previously contributed to it. It has produced a number of interesting reports, one of which went to Defra when it was considering, in its embryonic form, what became the 2006 Act. It has also considered dog registration and other matters.

I am, of course, delighted that dog registration will become compulsory, with microchipping, in 2016, but I have to tell the Minister that I personally, like many others, have waited a long, long time. When the old dog licensing legislation was abolished in the 1980s, I suggested that compulsory registration, brought up to date with the then new microchipping, would be a good idea. In the other place I sought on two separate occasions to attach it to other Bills, with a total lack of success. So I am very pleased now, because I think it will do more than anything else to improve the welfare of dogs and help to deal with the appalling problem of strays, which has been so distressing to many of us for years, and also the unwanted dog population.

The noble Lord, Lord Hoyle, mentioned dog fighting—a particularly horrible and barbaric so-called sport. He wondered why there were so few prosecutions. I fear that the reason is that the very secretive groups of people who undertake this are very good at finding distant places where they may engage in it. For example, when I was a Plymouth MP, we knew that Dartmoor often provided ideal opportunities for people to hide away and engage in that barbaric practice. I know from talking to RSPCA inspectors that they virtually had to go underground, practically in disguise, to penetrate such groups. It is not an easy thing to do.

Something of great concern to me at the moment is the use of electronic collars for the so-called training of dogs. As far as I am aware—unless the Minister can tell me otherwise—it is still legal, but I think it should be outlawed. The matter could well be embraced in one of the codes under the 2006 Act. I hope that the Minister will look into that as a matter of urgency.

There are innumerable other matters with which one could concern oneself, but let me now turn to the subject of cats. Like my noble friend Lord Black, I am a great lover of cats as well as dogs. One of the most miserable parts of my life in animal welfare has been seeing how many cats are unwanted. Sometimes they become feral. The animal welfare charities are unable to deal with them all properly, and one of the most miserable things one can do is to go to one of the welfare establishments where there are cages upon cages of animals waiting to be re-homed. They all look adorable, and one wants to take them all home. In fact, years ago when I chaired the RSPCA, my mother was still alive and I used to take her round on visits—until finally she said, “I can’t bear to see any more of these unwanted dogs and cats. Please don’t ask me to come with you again.” We still have the problem; it never seems to go away.

I hope that the Minister will look again at the issue of unwanted animals, particularly cats. I am sure that, as other noble Lords have suggested, a lot could be done with a really good neutering programme. The animal welfare charities do their best, but I believe that the Government themselves should be taking a more urgent look at this. Dare I suggest that they might put a little money towards it? I am probably addressing deaf ears—very deaf ears. None the less I shall make the point, because it is time that Governments took more responsibility, rather than waving it off to local authorities, animal welfare charities—you name it. I am aware that my time is up, so I shall sit down in hope.

Forestry: Independent Panel Report

Baroness Fookes Excerpts

Wednesday 17th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, there were quite a lot of questions in there. I can assure the noble Baroness that stakeholders will be comprehensively involved in the process. She refers to HOOF; to dispel some misunderstanding, it is worth saying that, far from reviving the spectre of privatisation, or placing Ministers in total control of our forests, as has been suggested, our proposals involve the legal transferral of ownership of the entire estate from Ministers to a new operationally independent public body. I say to the noble Baroness that there is some misunderstanding; if it would be helpful to her, I would be very pleased to have a meeting with her—and a representative of HOOF, if that would suit her—to see if we can get rid of the misunderstanding.

[Baroness Fookes]

Will my noble friend expand on the issue of plant health, given the very worrying plant diseases that are affecting ash, oak, chestnut and other trees?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, yes, this is a very important matter. We have a plant and tree health task force, which has reached the conclusion of its report. It has recommended that the Government develop a UK plant health risk register and provide strategic and tactical leadership for managing those risks. It has also recommended a number of other courses of action, including developing and implementing procedures for preparedness and contingency planning to predict, monitor and control the spread of pests and diseases. We have accepted both of these recommendations and are making progress on them. It has also recommended a number of other courses of action, which we are actively considering. I had a meeting last week with stakeholders from across the interested parties to discuss those recommendations.

Crime: Wildlife Crime

Baroness Fookes Excerpts

Thursday 31st January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, for the reasons that I have given, I am confident that the measures in place and the resources that we devote to the matter very well address the specific problem of wildlife crime.

[Baroness Fookes]

My Lords, I suggest to my noble friend that another way to tackle the matter could be to encourage the use of tourism so that wild animals are an asset, not a liability. That would encourage the local people to care about them.

[Lord De Mauley]

My noble friend makes an extremely important point. In the past, I have been on safari in those wonderful countries seeing those wonderful animals. The more that tourism is encouraged in those countries, the more that money is brought into those countries, the more people will recognise the value of the wildlife. That will contribute to clamping down on crime.

Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012

Baroness Fookes Excerpts

Wednesday 24th October 2012 Grand Committee

[Lord Kirkhill]

My Lady Chairman—is that the correct form of address?

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees]

In fact, I am the Lord Chairman, but we follow the normal custom of addressing Members of the Committee as “My Lords”.

[Lord Kirkhill]

I fully accept that definitive assessment.

My view is that Defra has been playing around with this for many a long day without real purpose. It is clear that primary legislation is required to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. What we are told—and one has to accept it because it is obvious—is that primary legislation takes some time to create.

Nevertheless, while one can concede—and I do—that these regulations are an improvement on the existing situation, we have to remember that the whole concept of the circus is built on cruelty. It is built on prodding and whipping the animals. It is built on the fact that poor-quality staff are employed; and behind the scenes cruel practice exists in training. Although the committee of experts suggested that the animals were not at hazard, were well fed, watered and so on, nevertheless they are cribbed, cabined and confined. They have to travel around and they are much restricted. You only have to see behind the scenes, as I have done over the years, a trainer raising a whip and an animal immediately or very often subsiding. It is clear that much cruelty is involved.

Dogs: Microchipping

Baroness Fookes Excerpts

Wednesday 8th February 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

Yes, my Lords, the pet travel scheme requires that all dogs coming to this country are microchipped.

[Baroness Fookes]

My Lords, as a former chairman of the RSPCA, perhaps I may point out that it has been the wish of that society and many others that there should be compulsory registration for dogs, as this is the only way to deal with manifold problems. May I remind the noble Lord—although he will probably not know—that in the House of Commons I tried twice to get this introduced, well over 20 years ago?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

This House always provides noble Lords with the opportunity to fulfil their ambitions, and it may be that my noble friend will achieve just that.