Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill

Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 16th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, I welcome the Bill. It is a delight to follow the noble Lord, Lord Naseby. I met him in Durham a couple of years ago. To be clear, he was not visiting the prison; he was visiting his daughter at the university. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Randall of Uxbridge, and the Bill’s sponsors in the other place.

I will be brief because a lot of what I was going to say has been said. Public support for increasing sentences for those who abuse defenceless animals stands at more than 70%. It is unbelievable that arranging dogfighting and torturing animals attracts a maximum of only six months in prison whereas, as has been said, serious litterers can get a maximum of five years. As a police officer investigating violent crime over 35 years, I came across a connection between people who tortured animals in their early lives and those who went on to be violent against their fellow human beings later; this was mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Fookes, and the noble Lord, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, among others.

A classic example of this was Ian Brady in 1963. He was notorious for his involvement, with Myra Hindley, in the torture and murder of children in the infamous Moors murders. His early childhood was plagued with examples of torturing domestic animals; of course, we saw the tragic result. Indeed, animal cruelty offenders are five times more likely to have a violent criminal record. As has been mentioned, there is also a correlation between animal cruelty and domestic violence, which has increased during the pandemic. When examined by Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, we fared badly, with the lowest penalty out of 100 jurisdictions across four continents.

I have said enough. I commend the Bill to the House.