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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to increase the maximum penalty for dog fighting.

The maximum penalties for animal welfare offences are kept under regular review. The Sentencing Council has very recently published revised magistrate’s court sentencing guidelines, including those in relation to animal welfare offences, which include dog fighting, with the aim of ensuring that the most serious cases of animal cruelty receive appropriately severe penalties within the available maximum penalty.