Written question asked by Shivani Raja (Conservative) on Monday, 7 September 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 9 September 2026. It was answered by Jake Richards (Labour) on Monday, 14 September 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
Police: Animals
- Question
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To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of sentencing outcomes under the Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act 2019 for violent attacks against police and emergency service animals.
- Answer
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Sentencing decisions in individual cases are a matter for the independent judiciary, taking into account the circumstances of the offence and the offender, including any particular aggravating or mitigating factors.
In July 2023, updated sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences came into effect, taking into account the increased maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment introduced in 2021. Sentencing guidelines are developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, which also monitors and evaluates all definitive guidelines, as per its statutory duty to do so. We have no current plans to request that the Council review guidelines in this area.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 27595
- Session
- 2026-27
- Grouped for answer
- Yes
- Subjects
- Animal welfare Animals Crimes of violence Police Sentencing
- Legislation
- Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act 2019
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-09-14 20:08:50 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/27595
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/27595
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/27595