Farmers speak out about dropped Kept Animals Bill
The Kept Animals Bill would have introduced new measures to tackle sheep worrying.
The announcement by the Government that the long-awaited Kept Animals Bill has been dropped has been met with disappointment by an organisation representing sheep farmers.
The Bill would have introduced new powers to tackle livestock worrying and banned live exports for slaughter of cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, and goats.
The Government has promised to introduce individual pieces of legislation to replace the Bill, which was a manifesto commitment. However, the National Sheep Association (NSA) has spoken out about its frustration with the decision.
NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: “It seems as though our government is in turmoil. To be informed the Kept Animals Bill is to be abandoned without any detail of what might replace it or what might follow is incredibly frustrating for all that have been involved in this piece of legislation.
“It has thrown so much of what our industry was expecting including the banning of live exports up in the air. NSA had also been waiting for the Bill to deliver greater protection against sheep worrying attacks by dogs, an issue urgently needing attention. Clarification on what will now happen is needed quickly.”
Livestock worrying is a significant problem for sheep farmers, with 70 per cent reporting that they have experienced at least one incident of a dog chasing their sheep in the past year, according to NSA’s most recent annual survey.
Mr Stocker continued: “I assume Government had a good reason for this decision but delays and uncertainty will now follow. It’s still highly likely that Government will want to stick to its manifesto promise to ban live exports for slaughter or further finishing and the fact that there is no Border Control Point (BCP) with a live animals facility means that no one should assume this trade will resume.
“I could think that this gives an opportunity to actually further strengthen controls on dog attacks on sheep, for instance, to require dogs to be kept on leads in the vicinity of livestock, or increase the maximum fines for sheep worrying in line with Scottish legislation, but at this stage, it is difficult to make any assumptions or predictions.”
“NSA is exasperated there is still no appreciable accountability for dog owners and the disastrous impact their dogs can have on livestock. Abandoning this Bill now will increase the risk to animal welfare at a time when dog attacks are becoming common place.”
Speaking on behalf of the Government, farming minister Mark Spencer said: “In this country, we pride ourselves on our high standards of animal welfare, and we have introduced powerful laws to maintain them.
“We are delivering on our manifesto promises and continue to explore ways to enhance our position as a global leader on animal welfare.”
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
