WAV Comment    – 15/10/21 – Today is a very sad day for democracy here in England.

Sir David Amess MP, was stabbed to death whilst holding a normal constituency surgery this morning.  For overseas visitors, a surgery is a meeting between the regional MP and (public) members of the electorate for that area, so they can talk issues, actions with a view to making further progress on any issue covered. Surgeries often take place each week.

All we currently know is that David was stabbed to death by a man aged 25; who is now in police custody.  He leaves a wife and 5 children; and our thoughts go out to them all at this time.

David was a fantastic animal welfare / rights campaigner.  He was one of just a few patrons at the Conservative Animal Welfare Group; and his attributes include introducing the legislation for the Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act in 1988 giving protection to tethered horses and ponies, sponsoring the Horses and Ponies Bill in 1984-5, the Pet Animals Bill in 1990 and also sponsoring the Responsible Pet Ownership Competition for MPs and Peers.

In 2011 he won the Dods Animal Welfare and Environment Award for his leading role in and commitment to animal welfare. The award is given to the Parliamentarian who has done the most to tackle issues concerning the welfare of animals and the natural environment.

In recent years Sir David has successfully campaigned to stop the unethical practice of testing domestic products on animals, tackled the illegal wildlife trade and fought to put an end to puppy farming. He was always a prominent voice on the issue of the culling of badger’s debate, speaking in defence of badgers; and he also consistently voted against any changes to the Hunting Act in order to protect the animals from culling.

David was a great friend and advocate voice for animals and animal welfare; he will be greatly missed in Parliament.

We at WAV thank him for his devotion and commitment to the issue of animal welfare / rights; if there were more like him in the world, then it would be a much better place.

Regards Mark.

https://www.davidamess.co.uk/news/sir-david-appointed-patron-conservative-animal-welfare-foundation

Thursday, 24 November, 2016

Lorraine Platt, Co-Founder of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, commented:

“We are delighted and honoured that Sir David Amess is joining us as our Patron along with Henry Smith MP and Sir Roger and Lady Suzy Gale.”

The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation was established earlier this year to raise awareness of the billions of animals reared on intensive farms around the world, and how this impacts upon animal welfare, the environment and people’s health.