The Countryside Alliance fully supports this Bill as a straightforward measure to
improve animal welfare, as we did when it and one other animal welfare Bill passed the Commons. We urge politicians of all parties to support it and co-operate in securing its passage
support. It received a Second Reading in the House of Commons but fell at
dissolution prior to the General Election.
This Bill seeks to clamp down on the smuggling of dogs, cats and ferrets. It would
ban the import of puppies and kittens under six months and dogs and cats that are
mutilated or heavily pregnant, and also reduce the number of animals that can travel
into Great Britain under non-commercial rules originally introduced when we were
in the European Union.
We believe that this Bill will help reduce the current abuse of the non-commercial
pet movement system, which allows, in particular, the import of low-welfare puppies
into the country.
There has been only one substantive change in this Bill from what received Second
Reading in the last Parliament: a new clause on pre-testing to avoid diseases such
as rabies and brucella canis becoming endemic in the UK.
We would expect exemptions introduced by regulations to include pet animals
being moved into Great Britain for the purpose of participating