The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 21st May 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that slingshots are being used to cause damage to vehicles and local wildlife in rural areas.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about damage caused by use of sling-shots in rural areas”The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the issue of illegal hare coursing during a discussion on rural crime on 9th May 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, it is recognised that one niche area of rural crime by organised crime groups is laundering money through events such as illegal hare coursing, which is causing a huge problem. We were very grateful for the recent support of the Government in trying to bring an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, but is the Minister sure that the new police and crime commissioners not only understand the problem but have the right training in place so the law can be implemented?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about illegal hare coursing”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 22nd March 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the peregrine falcon population in England of the theft of peregrine falcon eggs for sale of chicks to the Middle East.
Lord Benyon (Con, DEFRA): Defra has not made any assessment of the impact of peregrine falcon egg theft on the peregrine population.
The Government does, however, take all wildlife crime seriously, including the theft of wild bird eggs, which is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about impact of theft of eggs on peregrine falcon population in the UK”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 21st March 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for poaching in England were successful under the Game Act 1831, the Hunting Act 2004 and the Night Poaching Act 1828 in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, and (5) 2023.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about animal welfare prosecutions”On 21st February 2024, yhe Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich gave a speech during the second reading of the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill, expressing his support for the bill and stressing the importance of maintaining animal welfare standards in the UK:
The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich: My Lords, I draw attention to my entry in the register of interests. It is a pleasure to speak in this debate, and I welcome the Government’s commitment to improving the standards of animal welfare in the UK. I add my thanks to the Minister, as he begins his new role, and to those who have campaigned for so long, particularly the noble Baroness, Lady Fookes, whose birthday it is today.
I have spoken to farmers and farm vets in Suffolk, and they are clear that the exporting of animals for slaughter is not an acceptable practice, and I fully support the Bill. They raised with me a couple of related points, both of which have been made already, but I will briefly refer to them. First, we must ensure that holding British farmers to high welfare standards does not result in the undercutting of our farmers by cheaply produced imported meat that does not meet the same standards required of UK farmers. I hope the Government are able to provide farmers with the assurances they need on this matter.
Continue reading “Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill: Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich welcomes legislation”On 13th September 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the Report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the Bill, in which Bishops took part:
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 4th September 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government whether they intend to take forward in the current parliamentary session the provisions of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill on livestock worrying.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about legislation to combat livestock worrying”On 12th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Online Safety Bill in the report stage. A vote was held on an amendment to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:
The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 17th April 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the differences in environmental and animal welfare standards in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and the impact of these differences on British farmers, given the UK–Australia and UK–New Zealand free trade agreements.
Lord Benyon (Con): The Government has been clear that any access to UK markets agreed through trade agreements will be fair and reciprocal, taking into account sectoral sensitivities and differences in food production standards. For example, within the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement we secured the exclusion of pork, chicken and eggs from tariff liberalisation reflecting the importance of animal welfare to the UK and the level of trade between Australia and the UK on these products.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about animal welfare standards in international trade”On 8th October 2020 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Trade Bill in committee. The Bishop of Blackburn spoke in support of amendments that would:
The Bishops’ speeches are below and the full text of the amendments beneath.
The Lord Bishop of Blackburn: My Lords, having made my maiden speech a week or so ago at Second Reading of the Bill, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, for proposing Amendment 35, to which I wish to speak, without, I have to say, the expertise of other contributors, but I shall speak in favour of the amendment on two counts, only simply, as I do not wish to repeat what has already has been said. Continue reading “Trade Bill: Bishop of Blackburn supports amendments on sustainable development goals, environmental, health and food standards”
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