Ruth Edwards MP has supported a Bill to introduce new penalties for animal welfare offences.
The Bill, introduced by Conservative MP and animal welfare champion Andrew Rosindell MP, will give police the power to issue penalty notices to people caught breaking rules around keeping and managing animals.
Ruth said:
‘This is a big step for animal welfare in this country. Until now, animal abuse either ends in a warning or conviction, with many offences that don’t make the threshold for prosecution let off with a warning. This new Bill closes that gap, offenders will now be fined up to £5,000.
‘This new power will cover all farmed animals alongside kept animals, such as those in zoos and aquariums, and companion animals, further enhancing the UK’s leading animal welfare laws.
‘This Bill arrives alongside several other leading measures this Government is taking to improve animal welfare.
‘The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act raised the maximum sentence for animal offences from six months to five years, and new legislation created a separate offence for pet theft – something I campaigned extensively for – recognising the distress that being abducted causes to animals.
‘Last week, the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced to Parliament, which will protect animals that are kept in, imported into, or exported from Great Britain from poor living conditions.
‘This Bill will stop primates being kept as pets and ban the export of live animals for slaughter and fattening.’