Animal Welfare Bill

The Bill has been four years in the making and I have followed it closely since the beginning. I was a member of the Select Committee that scrutinised an earlier draft of the Bill and I saw the current Bill through Standing Committee on behalf of the Opposition. The Conservative party has always supported what we see as the Bill’s primary intentions: updating and consolidating a century of fragmented and outdated legislation, and introducing the positive duty of care. We recognise the importance of the legislation and have taken every opportunity to work consensually and constructively with Members on both sides of the House. Moreover, the scientific evidence to which I attach so much importance is such that legislation founded on it will always transcend political divides. With that in mind, I pay tribute to the role played by the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Exeter (Mr. Bradshaw), in making the legislation possible. It was his first Bill and I congratulate him on the result. He was always prepared to welcome comment and counsel and subsequently to change his position. In any other Minister that could easily have been misconstrued as uncertainty or indecision, but not in the hon. Gentleman. He listened to advice about statutory improvement notices, allowed me to convince him of its merits and changed Government policy accordingly. I have no hesitation in thanking him publicly. The hon. Gentleman listened carefully to the case for expanding the fighting offence in clause 7 to include all those with involvement in animal fights. At the behest of the Opposition, he added provisions to improve procedures under clause 16 for notifying owners that their animal is in distress. He allowed colleagues to persuade him to resolve the future of tail docking on the face of the Bill rather than, as he planned, through secondary legislation. He proved to be flexible about expanding the definition of ““suffering”” to include mental as well as physical harm. If the hon. Gentleman continues to legislate in that constructive manner, and allows Parliament to scrutinise his proposals, I shall look forward to working with him again. Furthermore, other Ministers could do a lot worse than to learn from him. I thank all members of the Standing Committee, as well as my hon. Friend the Member for South-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice) and all Members who spoke. I also thank the Chairmen of the Committee, the hon. Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) and my hon. Friend the Member for North Thanet (Mr. Gale), the Select Committee, chaired by my right hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack), and all the people outside this place who so assiduously—indeed, copiously—wrote in with their views. Tonight, we shall send the Bill to the other place and their lordships will be grateful for the hard work and effort made by the Chamber and for the improvements that we are proud to have made.