ERADICATING ANIMAL CRUELTY

Democratic Unionist Party Policy Consultation Paper

Introduction The Democratic Unionist Party is dedicated to ensuring that animals in our society are cared for, that those who abuse animals are punished, and that those with a legal responsibility for animal care have the support and resources they need. Domestic animals such as dogs and cats are loved by their owners and bring enormous happiness to families and individuals across . We want our pets and animals to be happy, healthy and loved. For many within our society it is beyond comprehension that some individuals are willing to cause harm and suffering to animals through neglect and cruelty.

We are clear on two key points from the outset; • Any act of cruelty towards an animal should be punished appropriately. • Those responsible for extreme cases of animal cruelty should go to prison.

At the beginning of this year the DUP launched a pre consultation paper eradicating animal cruelty with the core issues; • Animals are protected from abuse and suffering. • That those who deliberately harm animals are prosecuted and punished to send a deterrent message that abuse will not be tolerated. • Promote public awareness and understanding of the value of animals.

Responses were received from: • League Against Cruel Sports. • Northern Ireland Badger Group. • The British Association for shooting and conservation • Four individuals. Overall, the core aims of the policy were supported with a few suggested additions namely support from the courts on prosecutions and a fox hunting reforms.

In our pre-consultation for ‘Our Green and Pleasant Land’ we received a response from the Countryside Alliance that discussed issues relevant to this paper.

Northern Ireland Legislative Framework

The Welfare of Animals Act 2011 The Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 supersedes the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. The 2011 Act updates and strengthens the powers in the 1972 Act. The Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011 details the following: (1) A person commits an offence if— (a) an act of that person, or a failure of that person to act, causes an animal to suffer, (b) that person knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the act, or failure to act, would have that effect or be likely to do so, and (c) the suffering is unnecessary. (2) A person commits an offence if— (a) that person is responsible for an animal, (b) an act, or failure to act, of another person causes the animal to suffer, (c) the first-mentioned person permitted that to happen or failed to take such steps (whether by way of supervising the other person or otherwise) as were reasonable in all the circumstances to prevent that happening, and (d) the suffering is unnecessary.1

This Act is detailed to include the protection of animals, the prevention of harm, protection for animals in distress and the promotion of welfare. The maximum sentence for any individual who commits any of the above is up to 2 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

The 2011 Act provides the same level of protection for both farmed and non-farmed animals and sets out the “five needs” of an animal.2 The five needs are: 1. A suitable environment. 2. Being protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease. 3. A suitable diet. 4. Being housed with, or apart from other animals. 5. The ability to exhibit normal behaviour patterns.

There are codes of practice published by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for non-farmed animals in 2012 and farmed animals in 2014. This details the five needs of non-farmed animals to include dogs, cats, rabbits, horses and non-human

1 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nia/2011/16/contents 2 https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/daera/animal-welfare-report-2018-final.pdf primates. For farmed animals a code of practice has been published for beef cattle, dairy cattle, meat chicken, sheep, laying hens and pigs.

Improving the NI Legislative Framework In 2014 the Northern Ireland Assembly debated a motion calling for a review of the Welfare of Animals Act, particularly to the sentencing guidelines and practices to ensure maximum effectiveness to tackle animal welfare offences. The final report of this review was published in 2016 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD). In this review, government worked with Local Councils, Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI), animal welfare groups, rehoming organisations and charities. There were 68 recommendations in the report under the following 8 themes: 1. Sentencing 2. Delivery Structures – Farmed Animals 3. Delivery Structures – Non-Farmed Animals 4. Delivery Structures – Wild Animals 5. Working together 6. Serving the public 7. Dog Breeding and Online Pet Sales 8. Equines

Sentencing in criminal cases is a matter for the independent Judiciary taking into account a number of factors to include the seriousness of the crime and the maximum or minimum sentence set down by law. Prosecutions and sentencing of offenders in animal welfare cases have been a matter of public interest over the past number of years, boosted by a number of high-profile cases which have received media attention.

At the Interim Report stage of the Animal Welfare Review, it was recommended that DARD should consider increasing the statutory maximum penalties for the more serious summary offences, and for indictable offences, under the 2011 Act as follows: Summary offences – increase the maximum prison sentence available for those found guilty of the more serious summary offences from six months to twelve months, and the maximum fine from £5,000 to £20,000; and Indictable offences – increase the maximum prison sentence for those found guilty on indictment from two years to five years (the maximum unlimited fine would remain unchanged).3

The DUP support the increase in minimum sentences, therefore, we would like to see more effective use of legal deterrents and cause potential offenders to think again. Animal Welfare Officers (AWOs) are employed by Local Government in Northern Ireland, via a regional approach, to enforce the 2011 Act with regard to non-farmed animals. There are five sub-regions; • Belfast. • Northern Region - Mid and East Antrim District Council; Causeway Coast and Glens District Council; and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. • Western Region - Fermanagh and Omagh District Council; Derry City and Strabane District Council; and Mid Ulster District Council. • Southern Region - Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council; and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. • Eastern Region - Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council; and Ards and North Down District Council.

There is currently a budget from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) of £1.25 million to support this service. This funding is managed by a strategic board through DAERA in which nine AWO are employed, administrative staff and a consultative proportion on veterinary care. The AWOs are funded by DAERA, but employed by councils. There are two staff in each region with the exception of Belfast, which has one AWO. A huge proportion of this budget is spent on staff and veterinary costs, therefore leaves little else for advertising and programmes targeted at promoting animal welfare.

The DUP propose:

• An increase in funding for the animal welfare service. This could be spent on further staff resources and programmes to include educating the younger generation on

3 https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/dard/final-report-of-the-review-of-the- implementation-of-the-welfare-of-animals-act-ni-2011.PDF animal welfare. DAERA will also have to ensure there is timely notification of funds to ensure the service can plan any programs or services.

• A further review on sentencing led by a steering group to look at this specific issue including DAERA, DOJ and independent professionals. A further review will look at how sentencing has improved, if at all, and the steps to take to improve the use of the legislation.

Banned offenders To protect animals from harm in the future a court can decide as part of a conviction to ban an individual or individuals from keeping animals. If an individual is banned from keeping animals, this means being disqualified from owning, keeping, participating in the keeping of, or being party to an arrangement which entitles a person to having control or influence over the way animals are kept.

There are different variations of banned offenders’ registers around the world. Tennessee have a public register online which includes the name and address of offender. This option would prove problematic with data protection. New York City have a closed register that only specified organisations can access and Finland operates a semi closed register, where a fee has to be paid to check if an individual is on the register. The Welfare of Animals legislation discussed earlier in the paper does make provision to ban an individual from owning an animal for a certain length of time, usually as part of sentencing for an animal related crime. The DUP welcome the use of bans when an individual has caused an animal unnecessary harm. In Northern Ireland there was total of forty-two prosecutions by councils in 2018, an increase from twenty-one in 2017, as published by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs' (DAERA) latest Animal Welfare Report. These prosecutions resulted in forty-one convictions.

At present in Northern Ireland there is no central banned offenders register meaning Animal Welfare Officers or Police do not hold a list of banned offenders in each Council area. This is problematic as if abuse or neglect is reported, the AWO is unaware if a potential offender is banned from owning animals or not. In 2016 the Justice Minister citied data protection as an issue for not establishing a database of offenders.

In 2018 Parliament passed the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which improves the principles of why and how an organisation can process and hold an individual’s data. For a banned offenders register this will need to comply with GDPR, which could make it difficult for organisations such as the police to share data with animal welfare organisations. There would also be a cost to the setup of this register and who would maintain this, extra human resource would be required and the questions remains of who should be able to access this register.

There are examples of how central government have worked with local government and communities in the sharing of data to include the Covid-19 pandemic. The Violent Offender and Sex Offender Register allows police in Northern Ireland to share information on offenders with other agencies, therefore GDPR should not be an issue.

The DUP proposes:

• A centrally compiled closed “Banned Offenders Register”. This would be a useful resource for enforcement officials investigating individuals suspected of cruelty and would help ensure that penalties would flow from breaches of bans. This would be held by DEARA and shared with AWOs and PSNI. This database could only be available to agencies to allow them to do their job and comply with all data protection requirements.

This banned offenders register, although it may have a cost and data protection issues to overcome, it will deter offenders and protect animals from future abuse.

Puppy Farming A licence is required to breed puppy’s and the penalty for no licence is a fine of up to £5,000, and possible imprisonment for up to 6 months. Most breeders are responsible, but there are unlicensed individuals and organisations operating puppy farms.

Puppy farms are where puppies are bred with little or no regard for the health and welfare of the puppies or parents. The sole aim of a puppy farm is profit. Puppies are often separated from their mothers too early, leading to long term physical and mental health problems for the animal.

Animal Welfare Officers believe this is a serious issue in Northern Ireland. They will often receive reports of puppy farming and movements of puppies across the border from the Republic of Ireland, heading for Great Britain. At present there is no specific legislation in Northern Ireland in relation to puppy farms. The Welfare of Animals Act NI (2011) and The Dogs NI Order (1983) will provide limited protection to dogs as the Act includes the minimum standards for owning a dog.

It is hoped that the introduction of Lucy’s Law in England will help to increase public knowledge of puppy farms and encourage more people to step forward and report this abuse. This limits the sale of puppies and kittens as pets in England and came into effect in April 2020. The Scottish government launched a campaign in 2018 highlighting the dangers of buying illegally bred puppies called buy a puppy safely and government have tightened breeding licences aimed at puppy farms. The Welsh government banned all third-party sales of puppies in 2019.

Lucy’s Law ensures that anyone purchasing a new puppy or kitten must buy direct from a breeder, or consider adopting from an animal rescue facility. Licensed dog breeders are required to show puppies interacting with their mothers in their place of birth. If animals are sold without a licence this can incur a fine and/or prison sentence.

The DUP proposes: • The introduction of Lucy’s Law in Northern Ireland. • An awareness campaign to educate the public on the dangers of puppy farming. • An increase in the punishments available to the Courts for anyone found to be running a puppy farm. • A specific team in DAREA to tackle puppy farming.

Dog Fighting Dog fighting has a long history which can be dated back to the Roman Empire and still happens around the world today. Dog fighting is a blood sport in which dogs are forced to fight one another for the entertainment and/or profit of spectators. These fights will take place in various locations including warehouses, alleyways etc, and as well as watching in person, with some broadcast on the internet illegally. The internet is making it easier than ever for dogfighters to exchange information about animals and fights.4

Often bait animals are used, including stolen pets such as puppies, kittens and rabbits, small dogs and even livestock. The types of dog generally used will be a pit bull terrier, tibetan mastiff, staffordshire bull terrier, although this list is not exhaustive. After a dog fight, many injured animals are not taken to vets for treatment due to the illegal nature of the activity. Dog fighting is illegal in most countries around the world and it has been illegal in the UK since 1835. In Northern Ireland Article 4 of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. It is an offence to cause a dog to suffer unnecessarily, which is also unfortunately the case during and after a dog fight.

Dog fighting is one of the worst forms of animal cruelty and requires action to ensure that the laws surrounding this are upheld for the welfare of dogs.

The DUP support: • Public awareness campaigns to alert the public of what to look out for if they suspect dog fighting and how to report. • The sentence to be a minimum of five years imprisonment for dog fighting in Northern Ireland.

4 https://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/dogfighting/closer-look-dogfighting • A specific team in DAREA working with the PSNI to tackle puppy farming and dog fighting.

Finns Law Finn's law originated after Finn, a police service dog, was repeatedly stabbed in October 2016 during an arrest. Finn’s injuries were so severe, he required hours of life-saving surgery and weeks of recovery. In Westminster, Finn's law was enacted in April 2019. It amended the Animal Welfare Act 2006 so that the statutory defense of fear that it contains does not apply to any service animal that has been trained to create intimidation or fear. This includes all service animals. The new Act covers England and Wales, but not Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, February 2020 DUP MLA Alex Easton brought forward the following motion: That this Assembly recognises the invaluable work of service animals used by the PSNI, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and the Prison Service; and calls on the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to introduce to Northern Ireland a law, equivalent to Finn’s law, making it an offence to harm or abuse an animal in the line of duty.

This was supported by all parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The DUP propose: • DAERA and DOJ officials bring a forward a plan including a timetable to implement this motion at the earliest opportunity.

Education and public awareness campaigns Education and public awareness campaigns will often aim to change societal attitudes for a longer-term benefit. Investment in an education and public awareness campaign in animal welfare would aim to reduce cruelty to animals and save resources in DAERA, DOJ and local councils. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) have developed various education campaigns have found: Awareness of animal cruelty and a sense of what is wrong and right is very high among young people. There are a lot of young people being exposed to animal cruelty.5

As part of the review of the implementation of the Welfare of Animals Act DARD, in conjunction with the Department of Education, is to consider including buying and caring for a pup in an animal welfare educational awareness class.

The DUP will support: • The development of dedicated school resources for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 pupils informing them of the hard work and effort required to be a responsible pet owner. DEARA will support the delivery of the teaching of the Companion Animal Syllabus.

• An Education program will include the testimony of people who purchased animals from puppy farmers and detail the problems that have arisen as a consequence.

• Public awareness campaigns on animal welfare issues supported by DAERA.

• The promotion of educational talks in schools and other suitable youth forums by AWOs and animal welfare groups.

Use of Animals for Entertainment – Circus A modern travelling or stationary circus is a group that consists of clowns, acrobats, and animals that travels to different places and perform shows with an element of risk. In Northern Ireland an entrainment licence is required for a circus to take place. If an application for a circus on council land there will be an inspection. Nowadays, many circuses no longer use animals as part of their performance.

5 https://www.rspca.org.uk/documents/1494939/7712578/Prevention+report.pdf/eae6c8c9-758a-ccdc-f69c- 66c0bc6ffb1a?t=1555596722243&download=true

There is a tradition with the circus that they are enjoyed by many families with the entertainment factor of jugglers, clowns and dancers. The performance does ensure those with talents such as gymnastics and acrobats can be displayed to an audience.

There still are travelling circuses that house wild animals, and these animals are often found to develop health problems. The caging of wild animals with no enrichment or stimulation is unethical. Research from various organisations has shown that the majority of animals are kept in chains, have health problems and not enough exercise. The RSPCA found the following: Travelling circus life is likely to have a harmful effect on animal welfare as captive animals are unable to socialise, get enough exercise or exhibit natural behaviours. Many animals develop behavioural and/or health problems as a direct result of the captive life that they are forced to lead.6

There had been a long running campaign to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in England. The Wild Animals in Circuses Act 2019 England ensures a circus operator may not use a wild animal in a travelling circus. The Republic of Ireland and Scotland have also banned wild animals in travelling circuses last year. Other countries around the world also have bans or partial bans including Italy, Sweden and Germany. The DUP have previously committed to support the introduction of Private Member’s legislation banning circuses that contain animals in our 2015 Challenging Cruelty paper. No wild animal should be forced to endure a life constantly in transit in order to perform and generate profit for the owner.

• The DUP will bring this forward legislation to ban all wild animals in circus at the earliest opportunity.

• The DUP will bring motions to the councils in Northern Ireland that haven’t already, that circuses with animals will not take place on council land.

6 https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/captivity/circuses

Every entertainment license applied for through councils for a circus will have to be inspected prior to approval.

Questions 1. Do you think there should be further recommendations in regard to sentencing and if so, please outline?

2. How much more money does the animal welfare service require?

3. Who should have access to and banned offenders register and how best will it comply with GDPR?

4. Do you agree with Lucy’s Law in Northern Ireland?

5. Should there be a ban on the sale of traps and snares?

6. How should the agreed Finns Law be progressed?

7. Do you support a ban on circuses with animals?

8. What should education and public awareness campaigns be structured?

9. Is the All-Party Group on Animal Welfare worthwhile?

10. Are there any further proposals you would suggest?

Please respond to [email protected]