Animal welfare legislation needs to be updated

Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott has confirmed that his party has brought forward a motion to the Assembly asking that legislation in Northern Ireland be updated in relation to animal welfare as it is currently falling behind the rest of the UK.

Mr Elliott proposed the motion following a number of recent incidents, including the plight of puppies exposed in the News Letter campaign, the recent animal cruelty case at Little Acre Open Farm and the case at Katesbridge where animals were found in desperate conditions.

Commenting on the issue Mr Elliott said:

2The Ulster Unionist Party has long called for action in relation to animal welfare and I have submitted numerous questions to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural development on the issue. It is an unfortunate reality that despicable acts of cruelty are happening throughout Northern Ireland on a daily basis due to loopholes in the system."

"We need to introduce legislation to deal with the issue as a matter of urgency as Northern Ireland is falling behind the rest of the UK - the Sinn Fein Minister has however failed to do this."

"It is for this reason that the Ulster Unionist Party has tabled a motion calling on the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, in light of recent events, to review the welfare of animals legislation as a matter of urgency to ensure that animal welfare standards are at least equivalent to those in the rest of the United Kingdom."

"These events have not only been visible in the Newsletter Campaign, but back in September of last year the Minister failed to notice continued cruelty at Little Acre Open Farm in Loughbrickland despite the fact that representatives from her department had visited the site on more than nine occasions. Prior to this starving pigs and cattle were found standing in eight inches of water - surrounded by other dead animals near Katesbridge at the start of last year."

"These are the realities that surround the need for change. Unfortunately it seems that the Minister seems to be more focused on adopting an 'all-Ireland' approach rather than dealing with the issue now - we need to ensure that we are brought into line with the rest of the UK. That is what the UUP will aim to achieve."