At the start of the new Parliamentary term, Guy continued to champion the cause of animal welfare in separate debates in Parliament.
On 1st September, he pressed the Government on why it had not yet implemented the Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023, which he had piloted through the House of Lords. (See - https://www.guyblack.org.uk/news/stop-unimaginable-cruelty-animals-caused-so-called-entertainment-tourism). The Act aims to stop marketing of activities abroad which involve cruelty to animals, to protect both animals and tourists.
Saying that while it had been a "privilege to take this legislation through the House", he was "profoundly disappointed that - two years after it reached the Statute Book - it had not been implemented, letting down the 150 charities which campaigned for it and the animals it would protect." He drew attention to the terrible fate of 20 year old Andrea Taylor "who was violently killed on a visit to the Nong Nooch resort in Thailand when an elephant which had been brutalised charged her - one of many tourists killed or injured because this legislation is not yet effectively in place." He challenged the Minister saying that it was "unacceptable that until this law is implemented by regulation, tragically there will be more Andrea Taylors."
The full debate, including the Minister's reply, can be found here.
On 5th September, Guy also spoke in the Second Reading of the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill which aims to crack down on the smuggling of dogs and cats, often in inhumane conditions. It is also designed to protect public health by stopping animal diseases which can spread to humans entering the UK.
Saying that he strongly supported this "long-overdue Bill", he spoke specifically about the plight of cats and kittens being smuggled into the country. He noted that "the commercial market for cats has been changing over the last few years. Cats Protection’s Cats and Their Stats report for 2024 revealed a significant rise in the number of pure bred and pedigree cats in the UK [last year'. For the first time, the number of these cats acquired overtook the market for moggies like my own [Destino], with significant consequences because of the increase in the smuggling of such cats from abroad." He said that the Bill would help tackle the problem by banning the import of kittens under six months along with pregnant cats in the last third of their gestation period, and reducing the number of cats that can enter the country in a single motor vehicle to five.
Guy again highlighted the "horrendous impact on cats of mutilations undertaken for cosmetic or designer purposes", noting that one important aspect of this Bill is "to ban the importation of cats with mutilations, particularly those that have been declawed, a barbaric and painful procedure ... We must deter any market interest developing in bringing such benighted animals to the UK."
The full text of the debate, introduce by Lord Trees, is here.
ENDS.
