---

Animal Welfare Bill

My Lords, I congratulate the Minister on the measures he has taken since his appointment and on the progress made. However, I am concerned about unregulated not regulated tracks. Would they fall into line with what is being proposed by the regulated tracks, particularly on the attendance of veterinary surgeons? We know that this is the difficult side of the sport. One wants to see the sport continue. We want to see increased safety for the animals, and we certainly want to see a lot more of them re-housed. However, I am extremely concerned about tracks that will go their own way—I do not think that the Minister will be able to speak about them today. I serve on the committee chaired by Eric Martlew, and we will bring forward our proposals, but we should do all we can to protect the welfare of the animals. As far as I can see, this amendment can only strengthen the industry. I hope that the Minister will tell us what effect the changes will have on unregulated tracks, which are of great concern to us all.