New Clause 4 - UK animal welfare enforcement database
Animal Welfare Bill
2:45 pm
Norman Baker (Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Lewes, Liberal Democrat)
I agree with the points that the hon. Gentleman is making, but does he agree that it might also be helpful if police forces had standards of practice to deal with such matters? For example, not every force has a police liaison officer—some do and some do not. Furthermore, as I know from having spoken to the police force in Sussex, it is sometimes difficult to get information about animal welfare offences because they are not always recorded in a way that would help the database that we both want established.