Written question asked by Jim Dowd (Labour) on Wednesday, 30 November 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 2 December 2005. It was answered by Ben Bradshaw (Labour) on Monday, 12 December 2005 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Animal Welfare

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of animals likely to need re-homing as a result of the introduction of the new welfare offence in the Animal Welfare Bill; and what percentage change she expects in the number of animals in need of re-homing.

Answer: We have no statistics for the number of animals currently requiring re-homing. However the introduction of the welfare offence is not expected to increase overall numbers significantly. We believe that the majority of sanctuaries are run satisfactory, providing a valuable service to animal welfare. However, there is evidence that a minority pose a risk. The Animal Welfare Bill will enable this risk to be addressed through the introduction of secondary legislation. The Regulatory Impact Assessment published in conjunction with the Bill proposes that all sanctuaries should be required to register with local authorities on the basis of a veterinary assessment and be subject to a code of practice by 2009. The regulation of animal sanctuaries under the Animal Welfare Bill will enable reliable data to be built up by local authorities so that high-risk establishments can be identified and inspected.We propose to work closely with welfare organisations and representatives of animal sanctuaries in preparing secondary legislation. This consultation will enable us to refine our thinking on key issues such as the criteria for regulating a sanctuary and the guidance which the code will give on rehabilitation and re-homing. The draft regulations and code will be subject to public consultation and there will also be the opportunity for discussion in Parliament.

Secondary information