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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a maximum five-year sentence for animal cruelty as a deterrent to animal cruelty offenders who use such acts of cruelty to manipulate human victims.

The Government is committed to the highest standards of animal welfare, and we have announced that we will increase the maximum custodial penalty for animal cruelty from six months to five years to allow the courts to impose appropriate penalties in extreme cases, whatever the motivation for the offence.