Animal Welfare Bill

Wherever cruelty or unnatural treatment is involved in the maintenance of an animal for no good reason, it is wrong. I would like to see a proper debate on electric shock collars. I speak with caution, because I was deeply involved in prisons for some time and I am aware of the role played by electric shock collars in training. Nevertheless, I have come to the view that other methods are just as effective and we should have a full debate and a free vote on the issue in this House. I would also prefer it if it were on the Floor of the House and not in Committee. The question of tail docking has already been covered fairly extensively. It is an important issue. Tails are docked for one of two reasons. First, it is done for cosmetic reasons, which can never be justified and should be outlawed, with no vet allowed to do it. The second is applied to working dogs, especially gun dogs, and others whose tails may become damaged in the course of their rather regrettable duties. However, other parts of the animals may be damaged in the course of those regrettable duties, such as paws, ears and noses. We are talking about preventive mutilation. That is not justifiable. The farce is that whereas the hon. Member for Carlisle (Mr. Martlew) rightly said that he had not seen a boxer with a tail, I have seen many working gun dogs with tails. Their tails were not docked and they did not appear to have come to grief. Once again, I hope that there will be a full debate on anti-docking on the Floor of the House, rather than merely in Committee, with a free vote. Docking includes the cutting through of muscles, tendons and up to seven pairs of nerves. It also means severing bone and cartilage connections; it is not a small, cosmetic operation, but something that causes a great deal of pain. We should also consider the purpose of tails. I shall not say that if a dog loses its tail it loses its smile, but the tail is a means of communication. We even use the word metaphorically. I might say that my hon. Friend the Member for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray) had his tail between his legs—[Laughter.] That would of course mean that he was somewhat dispirited after the hunting result. I might say that I was feeling waggy-tailed today, which would mean that I was happy. The tail is not just a point of communication for humans. We have to understand that the tail is a genuine means of communication between dogs, and aggression can result if dogs cannot communicate with each other. In case anyone says that bans are unworkable, I point out that there has been a ban in Norway since 1987, and in Sweden and Switzerland since 1988. Those bans have worked and none of those countries has seen fit to repeal them. Finally, whatever laws we pass after our debates on the Bill must be observed. It demeans democracy when the House passes law, sometimes by a large majority, yet some people out there decide that because they do not like the law, they will not obey it. If, for example, following a ban on docking, we do not see boxers with tails, we will know that the law is being disobeyed. This law, like the hunting law or any other law, must be observed when it is passed. I am delighted to have had the opportunity to contribute to the debate, and hope that the final resolutions will mean a much better world for our dumb friends.