Clause 44 - Enforcement powers in connection with pesticides
Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill
4:30 pm
James Paice (Shadow Minister (Agriculture), Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; South East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
That is helpful and I am grateful to the Minister. It brings me to the amendments. I still find things somewhat puzzling. I do not argue the point that poisoned birds might fly a considerable distance before falling to the ground, so it will not always be easy to trace the source of the poison. Of course I understand that that is the case. Nevertheless, at that stage no bird or animal is deemed to be suffering—although that might happen in the future—whereas the draft Animal Welfare Bill addresses the prevention of suffering.
I accept that that is not the Minister’s responsibility. He admits that he has not read that draft Bill, and there are many draft Bills that I have not read, although I have read that one. However, I am surprised that when his officials were reflecting on my amendments, bells did not start to ring, because in every respect—except, of course, for the insertion of the words “section 43” wherever relevant—the amendments are a direct lift from that draft Bill. I am surprised that the Minister was not pre-warned about that from within his Department.