Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance is issued to police forces on the investigation of suspicious animal deaths; and what recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of investigative standards in such cases.

Police forces investigate suspicious animal deaths under the statutory powers provided in the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which enables officers to act where there is evidence that an animal has suffered, or is likely to suffer, harm. These powers apply to circumstances involving the unexplained or potentially unlawful death of an animal.

Decisions on how such investigations are carried out are matters for individual Chief Constables, who hold operational independence and are responsible for determining the investigative approach taken by their forces. Police forces may also draw on wider investigative frameworks developed by the College of Policing, which support officers in handling cases that may involve criminal harm to animals.

Defra has not undertaken any recent formal assessment of investigative standards in relation to suspicious animal deaths.