THE ANIMAL WELFARE BILL
1. In 2004 our predecessor Committee undertook detailed
scrutiny of the Government's draft Animal Welfare Bill, published
in July that year. The Committee's Report was published on 8 December
2004 and the Government replied on 14 February 2005.[1]
Defra accepted a great many of the Committee's recommendations,
particularly in relation to the structure of the Bill and the
drafting of its definitions. The Department also promised to revisit
the Regulatory Impact Assessment it had prepared for the draft
Bill—a key document, given the range and extent of the delegated
powers provided for in the draft Bill.
2. The Animal Welfare Bill was presented on 13 October
2005. On 24 October 2005 we announced a short inquiry to follow
up the work of our predecessor Committee. We received 22 memoranda
and are grateful to all those who submitted written evidence.
We benefited from informal briefings from Defra officials and
from Mr Mike Radford, Reader in Law at the University of Aberdeen,
who also submitted written evidence.[2]
We held a single oral evidence session on 15 November with the
Minister for Animal Welfare, Mr Ben Bradshaw MP, and Defra officials.
3. In replying to our predecessor Committee's Report
on the draft Bill, the Secretary of State said:
The Committee's hearings and the Report itself
have been of considerable assistance in helping me improve the
Bill, and I am confident that the Bill I am preparing for introduction
is better as a result.[3]
Defra officials echoed her remarks in evidence to
our inquiry.[4]
4. We are pleased that the Government has taken up
our predecessor Committee's recommendations in key areas and we
agree that the process of pre-legislative scrutiny has helped
to produce a better drafted Bill. Our predecessor Committee was
especially concerned about the scope of the secondary legislation
to be introduced by the Bill. We were therefore glad to receive
reassurances from the Minister that the Government intends to
undertake "full consultation" on the individual issues
to be dealt with by means of secondary legislation.[5]
We share our predecessor Committee's interest in the proposed
secondary legislation on such matters as the docking of dogs'
tails, pet fairs, performing animals and animal sanctuaries,[6]
and we reiterate our predecessor Committee's call for public consultation
on, and the closest possible Parliamentary scrutiny of, the proposed
secondary legislation in these areas.[7]
We also welcome the Animal Welfare Minister's commitment that
the House will be given the opportunity to express its opinion
on tail docking during the passage of the Bill.[8]
5. We are publishing all the written and oral evidence
received as a follow-up to our predecessor Committee's work and
hope that it will inform the House's scrutiny of the Bill at Second
Reading and at subsequent stages.
1 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, First
Report, Session 2004-05, The Draft Animal Welfare Bill, HC 52-I;
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Fourth Special
Report, Session 2004-05, The Draft Animal Welfare Bill: Government
Reply to the Committee's Report, HC 385 Back
2
Ev 58 Back
3
HC (2004-05) 385, p1 Back
4
Q 2 Back
5
Q 81 Back
6
HC (2004-05) 52-I, paras 336-341, 302-317, 370-385 and 362-369 Back
7
HC (2004-05) 52-I, paras 316 and 367; paras 180-185 Back
8
Q 76 Back
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