The Animal Sanctuaries (Licensing) Bill put forward late last year by Labour MP Ian Cawsey, (Brigg and Goole) was due to receive its Second Reading in the House of Commons last Friday, but was not called due to lack of time on the day.

The Bill is aimed at ending the scandal of badly-run private sanctuaries where rescued animals do not receive proper care and attention, sometimes ending up with worse welfare problems than before they came into rescue.

The Bill was one of a number due to be considered and was third in line for the debate last Friday. The Bill may be re-scheduled for a later date, although there are no guarantees, due to the heavy legislative programme currently before Parliement.

Ian Cawsey remains optimistic, however, that the essence of his Bill may yet be preserved, thanks to the Government’s own proposed Animal Welfare Bill (as detailed in last week’s OUR DOGS). “Since I published my draft Bill, the Government has published proposals for its own Animal Welfare Bill which will include a section on the licensing of animal sanctuaries and rescue centres,” said Mr Cawsey.

“ The DEFRA committee dealing with the proposed Bill have made it clear to me that all the work I’ve done so far on my own Bill will be used to help frame the legislation in their own Bill, should mine fail.”