MP votes to reintroduce animal welfare bill

Last night in Parliament, Cumbrian MP Tim Farron voted to revive the Government's animal welfare bill.

In May, the government quietly dropped its Kept Animals Bill which aimed to crack down on dog thefts and ban the live exports of farm animals, and was in the 2019 Conservative manifesto.

An opposition motion in the Commons aimed to force the bill back into Parliament, in defiance of the Government's plans.

However, the motion was defeated by Conservative MPs by 256 votes to 183, with Tim the only Cumbrian MP to vote in favour.

Speaking during the debate, Tim said: "Of particular interest to our communities in Westmorland and Lonsdale is that the Government's Bill would have extended the cover of law on livestock worrying to include deer, llamas and other animals, and would also have given police more powers to investigate and prosecute the worrying of sheep and other livestock.

"Just as the Government's weakness in this case is sadly characteristic, so is their willingness to put political considerations ahead of animal welfare. It is not that they do not care about animal welfare - they just do not care as much as they care about the politics.

"The Australia and New Zealand trade deals are a case in point. Those deals were agreed despite farmers and animal welfare charities protesting the fact that they gave an advantage to those who practise lower animal welfare standards over British farmers who practise higher standards."