Clause 7 - Fighting etc
Animal Welfare Bill
10:00 am
Ben Bradshaw (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Exeter, Labour)
I take my hon. Friend’s point. The advice I have been given is that that could cause problems. I will explain why. To anticipate the objection that the distinction should not matter because the evil that we are trying to address is copycat behaviour by viewers, I simply point out that we should be well into the realms of public morality if we were to criminalise the possession of computer-generated images of animal fighting on that basis.
I draw Members’ attention to the current film “King Kong”, which contains graphic scenes of animal fights, albeit computer-generated, and is rated 12A and likely to be seen by a wide and possibly impressionable audience. Neither King Kong nor tyrannosaurus rex is a protected animal and, obviously, they are computer-generated, but I am sure that Members will understand the point and agree that that is not what we are trying to capture with the Bill.
I applaud Members’ intentions and share their concern about the morals of people who like to watch recordings of animal fights, but I am not convinced that the amendments and new clause are sensible or practical ways to regulate such matters. It is far more effective for the Bill to focus on preventing animal fighting by deterring those who can clearly be shown to be directly connected with that appalling activity.