I receive many letters and emails on the important issue of Animal Welfare and was pleased to attend Battersea Dogs & Cats Home’s event in Parliament last week to sign their pledge board and show my support for five-year sentences for animal cruelty.
We are renowned as a nation of animal lovers and must ensure that those who abuse animals are met with the full force of the law.
We have so many fantastic animal welfare charities, both national ones such as Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and the RSPCA and local charities such as Leek Home for Strays who I was pleased to meet at the training session I organised recently in the Moorlands.
I know they will all join me in welcoming the announcement that the Government will be backing the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill which is due for its second reading in June which will increase maximum sentences for animal cruelty from six months to five years’ imprisonment.
A public consultation found 70 per cent of people supported the proposals for tougher prison sentences and the planned change in law means the courts will be able to take a tougher approach to cases such as dog fighting, abuse of puppies and kittens, or gross neglect of farm animals.
These increased maximum sentences will act as a serious deterrent against cruelty and gross neglect in the future, and build on recent positive action to protect animals, including plans to ban third party puppy and kitten sales and banning the use of wild animals in circuses.
I believe that this increase in sentencing will send a clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated. The maximum five-year sentence will become one of the toughest punishments in Europe, strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader on animal welfare.