I am proud of my party’s record on animal welfare. The changes introduced by the last Labour government have left an indelible mark on British history and have stood the test of time, from the bans on fox-hunting and fur-farming to the action taken to stop experimentation on great apes and the testing of cosmetics on animals.
Most important of all, in the 2006 Animal Welfare Act, we introduced what a former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Margaret Beckett, called “the most significant and comprehensive proposal for animal welfare legislation for nearly a century”, transforming the protections of domestic animals in our country.
In opposition, we have maintained those proud traditions, from proposing legislation to ban the import of fur, to demanding that our farmers are not undercut by imported meat produced to lower standards abroad.
For the Labour Party, our belief in protecting animal welfare does not come and go depending on who is in what job, or what is politically convenient or fashionable at the time; it is a matter of principle and conviction.
Contrast all that with the current Conservative government; it has become impossible to say from one month to the next whether they are committed to animal welfare or not, or whether that commitment extends to introducing the legislation that they have promised.
The impact of Tory indifference towards animals is not by any means a new concept. The cost of living crisis has had a profound impact on pet owners, who face higher costs for pet essentials such as food and veterinary care.
The Kept Animals Bill was a flagship pledge in the Conservative 2019 manifesto and a key pillar of the subsequent Queen’s Speech. In 2021, the necessary legislation was laid before Parliament. But last month, without any proper explanation – let alone an apology – it was suddenly scrapped.
With it have gone the protections that the legislation would have provided against puppy smuggling, puppy farming, pet theft and live animal exports.
This baffling decision is not a one-off. The same Conservative government has scrapped its plans to ban the import of foie gras, and instead of embracing the opportunity to become the first country in the world to ban the import of fur, the have kicked the proposal into the long grass.
The truth is that the Tories cannot decide whether animal welfare is important or not, they cannot decide whether it is popular with their members or not, and they cannot decide whether or not it merits taking on a few dissenting backbenchers and annoying a few special interest groups.
That kind of calculation and dither tells you everything you want to know about their level of commitment to this issue: there is no principle or conviction at work, not even the one that tells a government to keep the promises it made to voters.
As long as they remain in charge, those promises will mean nothing, and animals that could be protected from unnecessary suffering and cruelty will continue to fall victim to it instead.
That’s why Labour will on Wednesday force a binding vote in the House Commons to re-introduce the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals Bill) that the Government controversially dropped just a few weeks ago.
More than ever, Britain remains a nation of animal lovers. We deserve better than a government that cannot make up its mind over whether it agrees.
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