Clause 5 - Mutilation
Animal Welfare Bill
5:00 pm
Shona McIsaac (PPS (Rt Hon Alun Michael, Minister of State), Department of Trade and Industry; Cleethorpes, Labour)
I welcome you to the Chair, Mrs. Humble. I understand that this is the first Bill that you are taking through Committee, so we shall be gentle with you. I wish you well.
I want to speak on this subject because the Minister invited us to say which of his three options we prefer. He kindly provided us with the two draft statutory instruments, and there is the non-existent third option, which I interpret as the total ban. My preference is for the non-existent third option: the total ban on tail docking of dogs except for therapeutic reasons.
There are certain things in the statutory instruments that are helpful. We are focusing on tail docking at the moment, but the draft SIs contain an awful lot more, and clarification on matters such as castration is helpful. I am keen that we have a free vote on the Floor of the House on tail docking, and I intervened on the hon. Member for Lewes to explain that that is vital. We should have that vote instead of deciding the issue by voting in Committee, which might constrain us. We may end up with an option that we do not want debated on the Floor of the House. We should have a debate, but I hope that we do not press the matter to a Division because we should have a full and frank exchange on the Floor of the House where all hon. Members are able to express their views in a vote.
Tail-docking is controversial and I have never supported the practice. I can see no good reason for cosmetic tail docking. I am unhappy with the suggestion that there should be exemptions for working dogs. All welfare organisations with which I have discussed the matter are against cosmetic docking, and whatever our views on prophylactic and therapeutic docking, most of us find it easy to say that cosmetic docking should not be allowed and that the practice should not continue.
Very few vets support docking. Some 92 per cent. want a ban. That is a problem. Even at the moment, puppies are transported quite long distances for the purposes of docking, including cosmetic docking. I am very unhappy that that is going on. Therefore, the first option—the status quo—is wholly unacceptable. My hon. Friend the Member for South Swindon said that few vets carry out the procedure. Certainly, very few young vets do it, but some people are clearly carrying out docking that is against the law. It must be tackled.