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Posted: 7th December 2023

MPs try to resurrect animal welfare legislation
Cats Protection have welcomed the moves to tackle kitten smuggling and cat theft.
Three new backbench bills could fulfil manifesto promises.

Backbench MPs have launched three Private Members Bills (PMBs) which aim to put into law animal welfare legislation that has failed to make it through Parliament despite forming part of the Conservative Party’s 2019 election manifesto.

The PMBs look to ban the import of hunting trophies, tackle puppy and kitten smuggling, and strengthen the laws around pet theft.

PMBs are proposed legislation put before Parliament by MPs and Lords who are not ministers in the Government, but which can still become law if they gain enough support.

The ban on bringing hunting trophies into Great Britain has been sponsored by John Spellar MP. A similar PMB, backed by the Government, passed the House of Commons during the previous parliamentary session, but failed to pass the House of Lords.

Selaine Saxby MP has sponsored the bill on the import of dogs, cats, and ferrets, which would ban the import of sick puppies and kittens, stop young animals being separated from their mothers, and make it illegal to import heavily pregnant dogs and cats.

The bill on pet abductions, sponsored by Anna Firth MP, would make it a specific offence to abduct a cat or a dog.

These two PMBs aim to tackle issues that were covered in the Government’s own Kept Animals Bill. However, ministers chose to abandon the bill in May this year, over fears that its scope was becoming too wide.

Cats Protection and Dogs Trust are among the organisations that have welcomed the PMBs.

Speaking about the pet abductions bill, Cats Protection’s senior advocacy and government relations officer Annabel Berdy said: “A specific offence of cat abduction is desperately needed as cat theft is a real and growing problem in the UK.

“A report by Pet Theft Awareness found that in 2021 police-recorded cat theft increased by 40 per cent on the previous year and has more than quadrupled since 2015. There are a number of reasons for this including the buoyant market in cats and kittens and a staggering rise in demand for high-value purebred or pedigree cats.”

In response to the bill on importing dogs, cats and ferrets, Dogs Trust chief executive Owen Sharp said: “We are delighted that Selaine has committed to taking forward a bill to finally put an end to the cruel puppy smuggling trade.

“We have been campaigning for over 10 years to end the suffering of countless numbers of dogs caught up in this abhorrent trade, and we hope this marks a real step forward for dog welfare in the UK.”

Image © Shutterstock



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