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Written question asked by Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party) on Wednesday, 17 January 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 January 2024 (named day). It was answered by Gareth Bacon (Conservative) on Monday, 22 January 2024 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.


Animal welfare: Sentencing

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many pet owners (a) have been convicted of and (b) served prison sentences for offences against their pets under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in the last two years.

Answer

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on prosecutions, convictions and sentence outcomes in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2023 including offences as set out in the Offence Group Classification. The total number of individuals convicted and sentence outcomes for offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, can be obtained by selecting the following HO codes: 10829, 10830, 10831, 10832, 10833, 10834, 10835, 10836, 10837, 10838, 10839, 09701, 09702, 09703, 09704, 09705.

However, whether the offence was committed by a pet owner against their pet is not held centrally in the Court Proceedings Database. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
10034
Session
2023-24
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Animal welfare Pets Sentencing
Legislation
Animal Welfare Act 2006
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk