Commons Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 153:"Page 16, line 21, leave out ““the grazing of livestock”” and insert ““grazing””" The noble Lord said: The government amendments in this group are aimed primarily at enabling a commons association to manage horses, ponies and other animals that may not come under the generally accepted definition of the term ““livestock””. The amendments all replace the word ““livestock”” with the word ““animal”” to ensure that rules related to grazing made by a commons association can be applied to any animal de-pastured on the common. That is necessary to ensure that commons associations are able effectively to manage grazing on the land. In summary, the amendments allow a commons association to: maintain a register of all animals grazing on a common; remove any animals found to be unlawfully grazing on the common; dispose of any animal that it removes from the common; and recover costs from the owner of removing an animal from the common and disposing of it. The amendments are required in order to enable associations to deal with any animal de-pastured on a common and not just those categorised as ““livestock””, which in some instances can be interpreted narrowly to mean animals kept for agricultural production purposes. Horses and ponies are a significant presence on some commons—particularly in parts of Wales and the south-west of England. It is essential that if associations established in those areas are to be effective, they must be able to make rules that apply to horses and ponies, as well as to other animals found on the commons. I know that the noble Lord, Lord Livsey, and the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, have tabled amendments in this group, but in our view the effect of the government amendments means that, with respect, their amendments are no longer required, as an association would now be allowed to remove animals of any kind from the common, including horses and ponies, and dispose of them through the appropriate procedures. I beg to move.