Labour has forced a vote in Parliament on reviving the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, after the Conservative government ditched the proposed change to the law which would have strengthened legal protections for animals against abuse.
The party moved to bring the Bill back to the Parliamentary agenda after it was suddenly scrapped by the government last month.
The legislation would have enshrined into law protections against puppy smuggling, puppy farming, further punishments for pet theft, and additional restrictions on live animal exports.
The scrapping of the Bill follows similar recent incidents where the government has scuppered plans to protect animal welfare, such as u-turning on its pledge to ban the import of the cruelly-produced foie gras.
The government has not yet announced whether it will bring the protections included in the abandoned Bill back to Parliament to be implemented into law, prompting Labour to force a vote in the House of Commons to put the Bill back on track to be implemented into law.
Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“The Conservatives’ decision to scrap the Kept Animals Bill, despite promising to strengthen animal protections, is a betrayal of voter trust and an indictment of their indifference towards animal welfare.
The Conservatives pledged during the election to implement new laws to protect animals. Again, the government makes big promises on animal welfare, but fails to deliver when it matters.
Labour today forced a vote to revive the Bill, offering a chance to MPs to prioritise animal welfare. I was proud to have taken that chance – it is a shame that so many Conservative MPs didn’t.”
Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, Jim McMahon, said:
“The truth is that the Tories cannot decide whether animal welfare is important or not, they cannot decide whether it is popular with their members or not, and they cannot decide whether or not it merits taking on a few dissenting backbenchers and annoying a few special interest groups.
More than ever, Britain remains a nation of animal lovers. We deserve better than a government that cannot make up its mind over whether it agrees.”
