Part of Animal Welfare Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 5:30 pm on 17 January 2006.
I note the point that my hon. Friend makes and her preference. I hope that other Committee members have noted it as well.
It may be helpful if I clarify some of the figures I gave earlier because I may have given them in a rather confusing way. The total population of dogs in England and Wales is about 6 million. Of that total, 1 million are currently docked: about 100,000 puppies a year. Of that million, about one third are of a type that may end up as working dogs. That is about 0.3 of the total, or 33,000 puppies a year. We would expect only a small proportion of that number of dogs to end up as working dogs. That gives some idea of the figures, but I acknowledge the concerns that several hon. Members have raised as to how one could create a foolproof and enforceable system, were there an exemption for working dogs.