Louie French, Member of Parliament for Old Bexley and Sidcup, has praised the enormous progress the Government has made on animal welfare, with the UK now proudly having some of the strongest animal welfare protections in the world, but Louie continues to press for further progress on this.
In particular, Louie highlighted in a recent speech in the House of Commons, the need for a ban on the dangerous importation of heavily pregnant dogs as part of the puppy smuggling trade.
In response, the Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to stop puppy smuggling including banning the import of young puppies, heavily pregnant dogs and those with mutilations, such as cropped ears or docked tails. Furthermore, the Minister assured that the Government are going to deliver these enhanced protections more quickly than previously committed.
Louie will continue to press for progress on the Government’s ambitious animal welfare protections which also includes banning live exports, banning the keeping of primates as pets and delivering the new offence of pet abduction.
This builds on the progress the Government has already achieved on animal welfare which is more than any other party including:
- Increasing the maximum sentence for animal cruelty to 5 years imprisonment
- Made microchipping of cats and dogs compulsory
- Banned battery cages and raised poultry standards
- Made use of CCTV cameras compulsory in slaughterhouses
- Passed the Ivory Act, including one of the toughest bans on elephant ivory sales in the world
- Established the Animal Sentience Committee to ensure animal welfare is at the heart of government policy
You can watch Louie pressing the Minister on animal protections above or read here.
