Chairing the APPG on Animal Welfare
Neil is passionate about animal welfare. Soon after being elected in May 2010, Neil was appointed Chairman of the All-Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Animal Welfare in July 2010. In that time, the group investigated a large number of animal welfare issues, from live animal exports to humane slaughter and the Equine Crisis to Dog Welfare. Under Neil’s Chairmanship, the APPG produced a number of important reports, on subjects such as Dog Breeding (2012), Equine Identification (2014) and the Dog Strategy (2015) to raise animal welfare issues to the Government’s attention.
Increasing Sentences for Animal Cruelty
Neil campaigned strongly for an increase to the maximum sentence for those convicted of animal cruelty from 6 months to 5 years. He harried the Government time and time again on this issue, leading Parliamentary debates and speaking at official events calling for an increase in sentence limits. Under his Chairmanship, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee called for an increase to five-year sentences in their animal welfare report. In September 2017, the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, heeded Neil's call and announced the Government would be raising the maximum sentence from 6 months to 5 years.
Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee
Neil has been Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee since 2015. This means he is responsible for scrutinising the Government on animal welfare issues.
In February 2016, the Committee published its report on Greyhound Welfare, under Neil's chairmanship. The report called for a new requirement for bookmakers - who profit from greyhound racing - to make a financial contribution to greyhound welfare. It also recommended wider and stronger welfare regulations to better protect greyhounds in their kennels, as well as on the racetracks.
In November 2016, the Committee also a wide-ranging report on the welfare of domestic pets.
The Committee also plays a role in scrutinising Government Bills on animal welfare.
Greyhound Gambling Levy
Following the Greyhound Report, which looked at the welfare of racing greyhounds, Neil has been working with the industry to improve greyhound welfare.
In Parliament, Neil led a debate which called for the introduction of a Greyhound Gambling Levy, which would work in a similar way to the horse race betting levy. After Britain leaves the EU, it will be able to introduce such a system, which could generate crucial extra funds for the re-homing and care of greyhounds.
Neil welcomed the increased voluntary contributions of betting companies, but continues to press the Government for action in this area.
Kept Animals Bill – Cracking Down on Puppy Smuggling
Neil has welcomed the Kept Animals Bill, which will do a lot of good for animal welfare, including reducing the number of pets that can be moved into the UK from 5 per person down to 5 per vehicle. The Government has also promised a range of reforms will be brought in subsequently which will further crack down on puppy smuggling.
Whilst broadly accepting its proposals, Neil called for two key changes:
Firstly: reducing the number of pets that can be moved from 5 per vehicle to 3. This would crack down on smugglers posing as holidaying pet owners. Bringing 3 dogs across rather than 5 at a time would be a lot less lucrative to potential scam artist smugglers. And research shows that 97.7% of dog owners in UK have a max of three dogs.
Secondly: raising the age limit on dogs that can be moved across borders to six months, up from 15 weeks at present. This should be done for two reasons. One, it is physically easier for Border Force staff to tell the difference between a young puppy and a six-month old fully grown dog. And two, older dogs will be much less ‘cute and cuddly’ and sale-worthy than young puppies, and therefore less lucrative. The Government has promised to adopt this recommendation during secondary legislation, after consultation. However, Neil’s view is that there is nothing that would come up in consultation that would provide a strong enough argument not to bring this in, and it should therefore be included in directly in the main Bill.
Other measures Neil has called for directly in the Bill – rather than added later via secondary legislation as the Government have promised to do:
1) A ban on moving heavily pregnant dogs
2) A ban on imports of dogs subjected to ear-cropping and tail-docking (practices which are already illegal in UK, meaning bringing imports into line with domestic legislation).
Animal Welfare Sentience Bill
Neil has welcomed the Government’s decision to enshrine into law an acknowledgment that animals are sentient beings, with the ability to feel pain and suffering. This is almost universally recognised, but it is right that we are able to hold Ministers to account on policy-making to ensure that they have considered the impact on animals.
However, Neil was pleased to see the bill revised from an earlier version which he scrutinised as Efra Chair, which would have left government departments open to never-ending judicial reviews, and potentially unable to govern effectively. The revised bill features an advisory committee comprised of experts from industry and academia, tasked with producing reports on how central government policymaking considers the welfare of animals. For the first time, Ministers will have to show that they have considered animals before making decisions.
Protecting our High Animal Welfare Standards in Trade Deals:
Since Britain has left the EU, Neil has campaigned tirelessly to ensure that the Government does not sign us up to any future trade deals that would mean importing food produced to lower animal welfare standards. This is important not only to avoid undercutting our own farmers on price, who work hard to produce quality food to high standards, but it is also that we as a country believe in gold-standard animal welfare as a principle. Neil has repeatedly lobbied for the Government to adopt a set of ‘core standards’ that would form a red line in trade negotiations that cannot be compromised on.