Animal Welfare in the House of Commons - 2019

2019 has been a very busy year so far in the House of Commons. While attention has been focused on Brexit, a range of animal welfare debates and legislation have been progressing in the background.

Several MPs have been working alongside charities and external campaigns to seek answers from the Government on issues like:

• dog welfare
• fox hunting
• horse welfare

In case you've missed anything, we've pulled together some of the main stories on the subject, and summarised below with links to;

• Hansard: where you can read the official written transcript of Parliamentary debates and proceedings;
• Parliamentlive.tv: where you can watch the debates;
• Parliament.uk's glossary: definitions explaining how Parliament works;
• House of Commons Library briefings: impartial expert summaries and research on the relevant issues or debate topics.

Finn's Law

Finn is a police dog from Hertfordshire, who was seriously injured in 2016 while preventing a robbery. A petition to change the law received 127k signatures, and shortly afterwards, Sir Oliver Heald MP introduced a Private Member's Bill known as Finn's Law, which makes it a specific offence to cause unnecessary suffering to a service animal. It received Royal Assent - the Queen's formal approval for a new law - in April, and is now an Act of Parliament.

Sir Oliver Heald gives some background on why he sponsored the Bill:

"Service animals such as Finn do a great job, and there are 1,200 police dogs in service at any time. There should be proper recognition in law of their vital role, and I commend the Bill to the House. "

Read our news story about Finn's Law on parliament.uk

Private Member's Bills are a mechanism by which MPs who are not ministers can introduce legislation to Parliament. Glossary: Private Member's Bills

Ten minute rule motion: Dog Meat (Consumption) (Offences) Bill 2017-19

19 February - Bill Wiggin MP

In order to reduce the international trade in dog meat, Bill Wiggin MP wants to set a standard by banning its consumption in the UK.

Find out more about the consumption of dog meat in the UK with this Commons Library debate pack.

• Watch Bill Wiggins' speech in the Chamber.
• Follow the progress of the Dog Meat (Consumption) (Offences) Bill 2017-19 on Parliament's bills and legislation page.

A ten minute rule motion is one way of introducing a Private Member's Bill. It allows the MP to make the case for their proposed bill in a speech lasting up to ten minutes in the Chamber. Glossary: ten minute rule motions.

Westminster Hall debate: Dog meat in the UK

21 February - Jim Shannon MP

Following this, Jim Shannon MP led a Westminster Hall debate to build momentum on the issue, and press the Government for a response.

David Rutley, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs responded on behalf of the Government, stating:

"In this country, it is an offence to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal or to fail to provide for an animal’s welfare. The maximum penalty for both offences is six months’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. The Government have already announced that they will go further and increase the maximum custodial penalty for animal cruelty to five years." 

• Read the Hansard transcript
• Watch the full debate

Westminster Hall is the House of Commons' secondary debating Chamber. MPs can raise a range of issues for debate every Tuesday and Wednesday. A minister must be present to respond to the debate and set out the government's response. Glossary: Westminster Hall debates.

• Read the full transcript of the debate on Hansard
• Watch it on parliamentlive.tv.
• What is the law at the moment? How is it enforced? The House of Commons Library briefing has context, policy and background information.

Questions on fox hunting in the Chamber

Fox Hunting has also been raised in questions to various departments, and remains under close scrutiny:

Business of the House: 10 January

Justin Madders MP (Hansard transcript)

Oral questions to DEFRA: 17 January

Christian Matheson MP (Hansard transcript)

Question 8: How many reports he has received of foxes being killed by hunts in England in 2018?

Topical Questions to DEFRA

T.7: Laura Smith MP (Hansard transcript)

Questions to the Attorney General: 31 January

Justin Madders MP (Hansard transcript)

Question 6: What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the CPS in prosecuting offences under the Hunting Act 2004?

Oral questions normally happen at the beginning of each sitting day from Monday - Thursday. They give MPs the chance to raise issues with government ministers in charge of a specific government department.

Unlike Oral questions, Topical questions do not have to be submitted in advance. The last 15 minutes of most ministerial question sessions is often allocated to Topical questions.

Glossary: Oral questions; Topical questions