Clause 8 - Duty of person responsible for animal to ensure welfare

Part of Animal Welfare Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 1:15 pm on 19 January 2006.

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Photo of Shona McIsaac Shona McIsaac PPS (Rt Hon Alun Michael, Minister of State), Department of Trade and Industry 1:15, 19 January 2006

I thank my hon. Friend for his example relating to hamsters. The first line of clause 8 states:

“A person commits an offence if he does not take such steps as are reasonable”.

Nobody would suggest that it was reasonable to recreate a desert environment in a child’s bedroom, for example, to offer a hamster its natural habitat, so surely the issue is covered in the clause.