Day: March 18, 2023

General News

UK: Get On With It For Gods Sake Government – Battersea Dogs and Cats Home urges Government to bring back animal welfare bill to benefit so many animals. There IS time, so do it !
Pets4Homes report

A leading animal rights charity is calling on the UK Government to do more to protect pets from abuse.

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home has launched a petition and is urging people to sign it and write to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call for the Kept Animals Bill to be brought back to Parliament as soon as possible after months of stalling.

Michael Webb, head of Policy and Public Affairs at Battersea, said: “It is deeply concerning that the Government has continued to fail to commit to a clear timetable to ensure the progress of this Bill. Time is running out, and the harm to animals that this legislation could help counter is still going on.

“We’re urging our supporters to write to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and call for the Kept Animals Bill to be brought back to Parliament as urgently as possible. The Bill is essential to improving animal welfare in the UK. It would make dog abductions a specific offence in law, and enable the closure of loopholes allowing the importation of dogs and cats with horrific mutilations. 

“Many of these animals are being smuggled into the country in dangerous conditions, completely off radar and forgotten about. 

“With progress stalled, we need your support to break the deadlock. Help us convince the Prime Minister that the Bill must be prioritised as a matter of urgency.

”What is the animal welfare bill?

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will look at addressing several significant animal health and welfare issues that are not covered by the law at present.

Under the bill, issues will be tackled including puppy smuggling, dog thefts, prohibiting the import of dogs with cropped ears, and a review of zoo standards across the UK.

[This is a] golden opportunity to improve the health and welfare of billions of animals

British Veterinary Association

Why is it important?

There are currently no laws to protect animals to the level these powers would. Five areas are being looked at specifically. Under the plans, the Government will introduce new powers to tackle the unethical trade of puppy smuggling by reducing the number of pets (dogs, cats, and ferrets) that can travel under pet travel rules. It will also make stealing a pet illegal. At the moment, your pet is considered an item of property.

It will also put bans on exporting live animals for slaughter, and will become the first European country to end the practice, seen as unnecessary cruelty.

Primates will also be banned from being kept as pets and more protection will be given to farmed animals, with police given extra powers to combat dangerous and out-of-control dogs.

What has been the delay?

The Kept Animals Bill was first introduced in the House of Commons on June 2, 2021 and carried over into the 2021-22 Parliamentary session, with its remaining stages scheduled for September 19, 2022.

The date was cancelled after the death of the Queen, and progress of the Bill has since stalled.

Who else supports the animal welfare bill?

As well as Battersea, a whole host of animal rights campaigners support the introduction of the Bill. The Dogs Trust and the RSPCA have encouraged the move, while one of the loudest supporters, the British Veterinary Association, labelled it as a “golden opportunity to improve the health and welfare of billions of animals”.

A spokesman said: “We are urging the Government not to let this important piece of legislation slip through the net.”

What animals are covered by the welfare bill?

The new Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will improve welfare standards for a wide range of animals. It will help pets, farmed animals, and kept wild animals.

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Continue reading at

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home urges Government to bring back animal welfare bill (msn.com)

Regards Mark

Environmental, General News, Hunting

UK: Trophy Hunt Ban – Government Has Not Checked Things Enough – Trophy Hunters Can Still Import Mass Dead Body Parts to the UK If They Go First Via Northern Ireland (Still part of UK). !!

Following on from our post yesterday relating to a ban in the UK of trophy hunting imports:

UK: We Have Values, and Being Part of a Trade In Endangered Species Body Parts Is Not Part of Those Values. – World Animals Voice

.. it now appears that the press have delved into this more and found that all is not as perfect as was first sold.

The law to ban trophy hunting imports was approved by MP’s very recently. (See above link).  This has now been exposed as a bit of a farce – why ? – the rules will NOT apply to Northern Ireland, and DUP (Democratic Ulster Unionist Party) MP’s have said that the bill is undermined and that Ulster (in Northern Ireland – part of the UK); will be used as a ‘backdoor’ by trophy hunters to continue getting murdered animals from the hunts into the UK.

It basically means that trophy hunters would be able to fly into Belfast (Northern Ireland), loaded up with dead hunted animals body parts; and then simply cross the Irish Sea to the UK.

Now that the Bill will be moving into the House of Lords before it becomes legislation; where it will undergo a lot of scrutiny; we can ony hope that all the loopholes will be exposed and corrected in the draft legislation.

If things are not entirely sorted out before becoming law; then one has to question all the actions undertaken so far by the government – it would appear that the Bill may have been rushed through Parliament without anyone looking into all the loopholes of what exists; there are even some saying that this current proposal may infact kill more animals than things in the past.

It would appear to currently be a failure to support the excellent work of so many anti hunt organisations and personnel; we can only hope the Lords will undertake an in depth review of the draft Bill before it ever becomes legislation – otherwise, what is he point of it all ?

Sticky time for the government; doing so much wrong as they often do.  General Elections not that far away now so that people can vote on issues such as this and many others; faith or no faith ?

Regards Mark