Announcement on new bill enabling tougher prison sentences for worst animal cruelty offences welcomed

“We are encouraged that the Government has listened to calls from the public and the animal welfare sector to increase the maximum sentence for animal cruelty offences. This will ensure that the worst animal abusers receive tougher and more proportionate sentences, and we urge Parliament to ensure that this Bill passes through quickly.

“Longer prison sentences are such an important element of protecting animal welfare from the worst acts of abuse, but we are clear that this is only the first step needed to better protect our national herd. Under current sentencing guidelines, the majority of equine cases that are prosecuted do not meet the requirements for a prison sentence – those that do include cases where there has been a deliberate attempt to cause suffering or there is ill treatment in a commercial context. It is vital that these sentencing guidelines are reviewed, and we encourage the Sentencing Council to do this once the proposed bill passes into law.

“Our view is that we must also have tough, enforceable bans to safeguard the welfare of equines, and other animals, and prevent repeat offenders. To be effective it is critical that enforcement agencies, most especially local authorities, enforce them, and this can only be done through a joined-up approach. We believe this can best be achieved through a simple animal offender register and we would welcome UK Government support for further research on how this could be best implemented.”