The Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 is the foundation on which statutory bodies, including councils, the PSNI and my Department, carry out their duties to improve animal welfare. It is robust legislation that provides a range of powers for dealing with animal welfare cases, including being proactive in dealing with cases in order to prevent unnecessary suffering, and tough fines and penalties for serious animal welfare offences. The 2011 Act is on a par with animal welfare legislation in the rest of the UK.

Whilst I have no immediate plans to review the Act, I wish to engage with relevant stakeholders in the time ahead on future animal welfare policy and legislation. The suitability and capability of all legislation, including that Act, is something that I am willing to consider as and when evidence for change is presented as part of that stakeholder engagement.