Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

Perhaps when the hon. Gentleman has been here a little longer, he will realise that this is not something that has happened suddenly. Those of us who sat on the Committee considering the Animal Welfare Bill know that. The Bill immediately followed the foot and mouth outbreak, which, as we all know, was extremely serious. The powers introduced then allowing entry to premises initially allowed them to be entered at any time of day, and actually commanded those occupying them to engage in whatever the police wanted them to do. Anything could be killed on site—any animal except, fortunately, a human being—and could be killed immediately. That provision was at least slightly qualified in Committee, and rightly so, as such powers would have been unreasonable and out of all proportion. We need proportionality. The new clauses and amendments do not exactly drive a coach and horses through what is intended in the Bill, and they constitute a serious attempt to focus on the offence. None of us wants to permit, allow to continue, or encourage the poisoning of any animal deliberately or unnecessarily, but that does not mean that we should grant such broad powers to enter and search premises and remove evidence—which may well contravene the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984—in pursuing people when an offence is being investigated. Powers are needed, but they need to be qualified. If they prove inadequate, the Minister can return and say that the Government cannot persist with them, but I feel that granting them at the outset is going too far. I support not just the wording of the new clause, but its intention.