Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill

Lisa Cameron Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 25th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)]

I thank the Secretary of State, who is no longer in his place, and the Minister, for the hard work they have undertaken on this Bill. As we have heard, animal welfare is a vital cross-party concern, and as MPs it is in our postbags regularly as a definite priority of the UK public. The Bill is an important improvement on existing animal welfare legislation, and the Scottish Government have granted a legislative consent motion, working in conjunction with the Minister and the Secretary of State on those issues that link with devolved competences.

It is vital that we work together, and I wish to pay tribute to the memory of Sir David Amess MP, who did so much work on animal welfare across the House. He was a fantastic cross-party colleague in that work, and I learned so much from him in the time I knew him. What happened has been such a shock to us all. It is something that we are left reeling from, but we will always fondly remember the work he undertook, which led to many good Bills coming through Parliament, not least the one we are discussing today. I will certainly be voting for his dog, Vivienne, as Westminster dog of the year. The hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) mentioned Calderglen zoo and said that we should visit our zoos. I have already visited Calderglen zoo in East Kilbride, where I was put into a number of cages with many different animals to give them their dinner. I experienced the tortoise weeing on my hand, but despite that I am very keen for tortoise welfare to be taken forward across the UK.

I thank the many animal welfare organisations that have contributed to the Bill, including the Blue Cross, Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and Marc the Vet. I give a special commendation to the all-party dog advisory welfare group, which I currently chair. That has cross-party working at its core, because these are all issues that concern the public and MPs.



On primates as pets, many animal welfare charities would like a complete ban rather than licensing, because primates have really complicated welfare needs. That was outlined very well by the hon. Member for South East Cornwall (Mrs Murray), who undertakes lots of excellent animal welfare work across the House, in addition to having a fishing specialty. Primates are often fed unsuitable diets and held in unsuitable cages, but they have advanced cognitive capacities, so that is psychologically extremely cruel. We must conclude that primates are not suitable as pets, and we must overcome any loopholes in the Bill.

Worryingly, licensing could be seen as giving approval to, or legitimising, the keeping of primates as pets. I think that is where some of the anxieties of the animal welfare organisations come into play. Alongside that, many local authorities simply do not have the capacity or expertise to enforce licensing requirements. Perhaps those issues can be addressed during the Bill’s passage.

The legislation on livestock worrying definitely needs updating. The Scottish Parliament recently updated the legislation in Scotland, via my colleague Emma Harper. Livestock worrying is of great concern to livestock owners and causes pain and distress to the animals. However, as well as being an animal welfare issue for the animals in the fields, it can be an issue of irresponsible dog ownership. The Blue Cross says that it does not want a situation where dogs are euthanised unnecessarily because of irresponsible dog owners. We should state clearly and explicitly in the Bill that owners should keep their dog on a lead in areas of livestock. It is a myth that dogs cannot enjoy a walk if they are not off the lead, and that should be overcome in messaging to the public.

I am delighted that the ban on live exports for slaughter is coming to pass. That is extremely welcome. I have wanted that and worked for it for a long time, and it has cross-party consensus. We have spoken tonight about loopholes, and I would like to see those closed.

Let me point out an issue that perhaps has not been mentioned yet. I am aware that many greyhounds are exported to Asia—to various countries—and I have been notified by charities working in greyhound welfare that those dogs are then found in dog markets and, sadly, find their way into the food chain in other countries. That has to be dealt with.

On the importation of dogs, cats and ferrets, the all-party parliamentary group on dog advisory welfare worked cross party to champion Lucy’s law, which is now being expanded across the nations of the United Kingdom. We hope to see that introduced in Northern Ireland in the near future. I am keen to see further measures enacted to combat puppy smuggling, and I entirely agree with and take on board the issues raised tonight regarding the significant number of dogs that have been imported, particularly during covid. The conditions are appalling.

We would like the maximum number of dogs that may be taken in transit reduced from five to three, and the minimum age of those puppies increased to six months. I understand from vets that consult with our all-party group that that is very important to aid screening, but also because dental checks can age a dog at around six months, but below that it is very difficult to determine the age of a puppy.

The hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) made an excellent point about the importance of alternatives to animal testing. That is not in the remit of this Bill, but I notify Members that early-day motion 175 seeks a scientific hearing on best practice. This issue, which was debated in an e-petition debate tonight in Westminster Hall, is another that the public feel extremely strongly about. I could not be in two places at once—I have not managed that yet—or I would have been there, too.

We really must get behind the Scarlett Beagle For Life On Earth campaign led by Ricky Gervais and Peter Egan and ensure that there are alternatives to testing on animals, and in particular to the terrible plight of beagles. Scarlett was lucky to be rescued, but so many beagle puppies suffer a short life of tests, toxicity and then death. We were informed at the dog advisory welfare APPG that beagles are used because they are extremely placid little dogs; they do not usually bite or retaliate, and they can even be trained to give their paw for injections. We really must make progress on these issues.

I am delighted to speak at this important stage of the Bill, and to work jointly and collaboratively with so many excellent colleagues from across the House who champion animal welfare. It is vital that we legislate for these issues, given their importance to the public, who hold them in their hearts. Compassion must be at the heart of the legislation. Once again, I thank everyone involved for making this an important, memorable and poignant debate in memory of Sir David; he would be pleased that it was so constructive and positive.