Animal Welfare Bill

moved Amendment No. 97:"Page 13, line 2, at end insert—" ““( ) An inspector or a constable must pay due regard to the need for and application of bio-security measures when effecting entry to any premises.”” The noble Baroness said: This is a very short and simple amendment, which I hope the Government may be able to accept, because the whole question of biosecurity is of concern to all of us. We have had foot and mouth disease, avian flu and swine fever, so it is essential, whether in a family setting, a house or a farm, that the person who acts as the inspector or constable must have due regard for any biosecurity need or biosecurity measure. We do not want there to be any incident of the type that happened, for example, during the foot and mouth outbreak, in which cattle were herded together. In one case, sheep jumped over a fence to try to get away from those who were obviously there with a duty to collect and put down those animals. The Bill, unless I have misunderstood it, fails to carry enough weight on the question of biosecurity. As the northern spread of diseases from warmer climates comes our way, we may well be faced with more diseases coming into this country. We believe that these are very practical and basic security measures, which should be written into the Bill. I beg to move.