Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Danny Chambers and Lindsay Hoyle(1 week, 5 days ago)
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Mr Speaker
Order. Before we come to question 6, I notice that it was grouped, but to be honest I cannot see a relationship between the questions or why they were grouped together. I hope a message can be passed back to the Department to say that we need to have relevance in the way questions are grouped.
Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)
Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill
Debate between Danny Chambers and Lindsay HoyleFriday 29th November 2024
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill 2024-26 View all Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill 2024-26 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.
As we know, tens of thousands of puppies are illegally smuggled into the UK every year; it is a huge animal welfare problem. This Bill will help to close the issue of having mutilations in dogs. As a veterinary surgeon, I see many dogs with cropped ears and docked tails—acts that are illegal to perform in the UK. People are performing those acts in the UK then claiming that the puppies have been brought in from abroad. If we ban puppies coming in from abroad with those mutilations, it will be of huge benefit to animal welfare.
The Bill will also protect public health, because we know that the tens of thousands of dogs being brought in are not being tested for diseases such as rabies, which can affect people. This is also about serious organised crime: preventing tens of thousands of puppies being brought into the UK will help us to tackle the criminal gangs doing those acts.
In the interests of time, I will finish by saying that I am pleased to have cross-party support on this issue as well as the support of the entire veterinary profession. I thank the Dogs Trust, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the British Veterinary Association for all the work they did to help to make this happen.
Mr Speaker
Does the hon. Member for Winchester (Dr Chambers) wish to come back in?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Danny Chambers and Lindsay Hoyle(1 month, 4 weeks ago)
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Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)
Thank you, Mr Speaker, but I withdraw my question.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Danny Chambers and Lindsay Hoyle(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Dr Chambers
Over the past few weeks, I have been inundated with questions from the people of Winchester about the cuts in the winter fuel allowance, and it seems as though people from all parts of the House are getting similar correspondence. Although I totally understand that there are many wealthy pensioners who do not rely on the winter fuel allowance to heat their homes, a large proportion of pensioners live on or near the poverty line and will be plunged into crisis this winter. Given the huge strength of feeling in all parts of the House, will the Chancellor reconsider her decision? If not, will she at least commit to a vote and a debate in the House about how we best protect our most vulnerable—
Mr Speaker
Order. Sorry, I have to get through the Order Paper. Put in for an Adjournment debate. Minister, I think you got the gist.