Commons Bill [HL]

Amendment No. 156 is related to Clause 30(3)(f),"““removing livestock unlawfully permitted to graze””." I want to question the Minister a little further on this. I understand that at the moment it is not possible to remove a pony or horse from a common if the animal does not have a passport. This is a specific situation because all horses have to have passports. However, if an animal finds its way on to a common and does not have a passport, it cannot be removed. The Minister has said that it is normal practice to remove horses and other livestock, very often sheep, which are illegally grazing on a common. Usually an advertisement is placed in a local newspaper and, after 40 days, the animal is sold. But it is now impossible to remove a horse if it does not have a passport. The only solution we can see is to enable the commons association to obtain a passport for a horse which is grazing illegally so that it can be legally removed and sold after a 40-day period.