Dr Danny Chambers’ Animal Welfare Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons on Friday, July 4, with cross-party support.
Now on its way to the House of Lords, the legislation wants to crack down on the smuggling of pets from abroad, and prevent mutilated pets, such as dogs with cropped ears and docked tails, from coming in from overseas.
Ahead of its third reading in the Commons, the veterinarian visited the Dogs Trust Salisbury, confident of success.
Dr Chambers said: “This is a brilliant day for animal welfare, it’s a huge problem that thousands of dogs are being imported every year by criminals pretending they’ve been bred in the UK when they haven’t.
“They’re making a lot of money, and it’s really, really bad for animal welfare. This puts a stop to that.”
He continued: “As vets, we see a lot of dogs that people think have been bred in the UK, but, in actuality, they have been smuggled from abroad.
“Some of these dogs have behavioral issues, some of them have a lot of health issues because they’re taken away from their mother far too young.”
According to the MP, another crucial aspect of his bill is public health. Smuggled animals could be carrying diseases, such as rabies.
“A lot of the dogs being brought are not tested or vaccinated for rabies,” he said, “It’ll be so positive to ensure that for dogs coming legally to the UK.
“There was a very sad case about a month ago where a lady who went to Morocco had been scratched by a street dog.
“When she got back to the UK, she got very sick and it turned out she had rabies, and she died.”
Rupert the cockapoo (Image: Charles Elliman) Adam Clowes, chief of staff at Dogs Trust, said the charity had been campaigning on the bill’s issues for a decade.
He said: “It’s a victory for dogs and for Dogs Trust. It’s long overdue, and the bill will show the consequences and the impact of the vile trade.
“It will finally close the loophole for ear cropping. Would you like your ears cropped? It’s completely unnatural.
“It’s been illegal in the UK since 2006, but if you go to the park, you’ll see dogs that have them. They’ve either been done illegally, or they’re being brought in.”
