Animal Welfare Bill

I pay tribute to the Government for introducing the Bill, which I support, but I would ask the Government to go further on the range of issues that I will set out in the next few minutes. The Bill is perhaps a little confused in parts. Some hon. Members have said that it has some grey areas and some have gone as far as saying that it has some large holes. I would not go that far, but we do need clarification on several points. We have heard some excellent contributions. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Derek Conway) who said that one only had to be normal to be a cat owner, which might explain why I have always only ever owned dogs. I declare an interest as a dog owner with two miniature schnauzers. I am a proud member of the miniature schnauzer club of Great Britain and I am secretary of the all-party group on wildlife trusts. I also pay tribute to the Dogs Trust in Roden in my constituency, which I have visited several times. The head office of the PDSA is in Shropshire, and I also pay tribute to the Hilbrae kennels, which I have also visited and which does a marvellous job taking in abandoned dogs. I also pay tribute to the Shropshire Star, which campaigns for animal welfare. I shall make some general points and then some points about specific clauses. There has been no mention of the epidemic of dog-napping. Up and down the land, even as we speak, dogs are being kidnapped, which causes great distress and misery not only to pets but also to owners. I hope that the Minister will look at the excellent work of dogslost.co.uk and consider how the Government might help that organisation in reuniting pets with owners, perhaps by encouraging the police to take the crime of dog-napping more seriously. Members have referred to suffering due to internet sales of animals. I am disappointed that the Bill does not explicitly make provision for stricter controls on internet sales. Although the Government recognise the need for a code of conduct, there are no proposals for tightening up the controls and no guarantee that they will be forthcoming, as they should be. I encourage the Minister to come to the House on 31 January when I shall present a 10-minute Bill that would end internet sales of endangered animals. I hope that we can safeguard the keeping and transportation of animals by regulating auction sites and internet sales of pets, and that the secondary legislation will cover that in detail. Members on both sides of the House have made excellent speeches and have made many of the points that I wanted to raise, so I shall speak about some issues that have not been mentioned. Have the Government held discussions with the Town and Country Planning Association with regard to the effects on animal welfare of the design of new houses? As the majority of domestic animals spend most of their time in houses, unfortunately, I hope that due consideration to their welfare will be given in the design of new houses. Homes can be made pet-friendly, and I should welcome the Minister’s comments on that point. Even as we speak, tens of thousands of cats and dogs are locked up in homes throughout the country while their owners are at work. The simple installation of a dog or cat flap would make their lives much easier. Animals do not have our privileges. When nature calls, I can approach the Chair and you are always generous, Mr. Deputy Speaker; you release me from the Chamber for a few moments, but pets in homes up and down the land do not have that privilege. I hope that the design of new homes will be taken seriously, so that people can have gardens. In refutation, it is often said that burglars can get in through the dog or cat flap, but if a burglar wants to get into someone’s home, they will find a way. I do not know of many burglars who have confessed to and been convicted of entering a house through the dog flap. They usually get in through an open bathroom window or simply smash down the door.