Animal Welfare Bill

My hon. Friend is absolutely right and makes the point perfectly that that is not an argument in favour of the exemption. I accept the evidence of the vets; they work with animals every day, see dogs with docked tails and have great suspicion about where those dogs have been docked and by whom. The only way in which this abuse will be stopped is if we have a total ban on docking, which I urge the House to support.