On 1st September 2003 I celebrated twenty years as a Member of Parliament. During those twenty years I have sponsored nine Bills regarding animal welfare issues. The Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act 1988, is one of those Bills that has reached the Statute Book and has made the provision to protect horses, ponies and donkeys against cruel tethering.

On Wednesday 17 September this year I sponsored a Ten Minute Rule Bill entitled “The Stray Animals Bill.” I presented this Bill to make provision for stray animals and for their ownership.

Animal centres nationwide are sadly full to the rafters with stray, abandoned or lost pets. With such a backdrop, I am calling on the government to introduce a statutory framework to enable animal welfare organisations to “rehome” unclaimed pets that come into their care after a minimum of seven days. Currently the Environmental Protection Act 1991 provides that local authorities must take stray dogs for a period of seven days. However, animals cared for by other animal welfare organisations are not governed by a statutory framework – they are left to abide by their own codes of conduct, which fail to protect them should a difficult decision be challenged.

If, by law, all pet owners had to trace their missing animal within seven days, it would create a spur to ensure all pets carry a permanent form of identification, such as a microchip, for ease of discovery. This responsible course of action would also avoid the heartache of finding a loved and lost pet had been “rehomed” or, in the case of injured or elderly animals, put to sleep on humane grounds. Legislation in New Zealand already provides an all-encompassing framework for those who deal with stray animals. I am calling on the government to do the same here, and set out cohesive statutory duties for all animal welfare organisations, individuals and local authorities to abide by.

I truly believe that this piece of legislation is essential because at the moment organisations like the RSPCA and the Dogs Trust (formally the National Canine Defence League) who do a marvellous job re-housing stray animals, can be faced with civil proceedings if the owners eventually come and try to claim their animal back. I hope that the Government take this modest measure forward when they come to finalise the Queen’s Speech this month.