Sale of Puppies and Kittens

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, as I can now delete exactly that line from my speech. I could no...

rose—

I will work from left to right.

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate. Does he agree that the rise of the int...

I do not think that is the only problem. As I will go on to say, that is one of the problems, but...

I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate and for his long-standing contributi...

Indeed, we do not just want warm words from DEFRA; we need some action.

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate. The motion calls for a toughening of G...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman because, absolutely, this is about ensuring not only that the...

I am delighted that the hon. Gentleman, who of course is from Staffordshire, has secured this deb...

It is certainly one of the cruel elements, but as I will elaborate, there are many other cruel el...

It is extremely important after this debate that we get it right, but I am concerned that good pe...

Going to a reputable person is actually part of the solution. To return to the point made by the ...

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing this issue to the House. It matters greatly to the ...

The hon. Gentleman makes his point very well.

rose—

I will not take any more interventions for a moment. I want to make some progress—I am only on th...

The hon. Gentleman is gracious in giving way and I congratulate him on getting the agreement of t...

I am grateful to the hon. Lady. There are indeed some very good local authorities, but even with ...

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate. On his point about animals b...

The hon. Gentleman is right that the treatment of these breeding bitches is unbelievably cruel. I...

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate. I congratulate, too, Marc th...

In a word, yes.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this important debate and for the clear terms in whi...

Resources are absolutely an issue for local authorities, but the strategy I am outlining will hel...

Hundreds of my constituents are grateful for today’s debate, so I thank my hon. Friend for securi...

This shows the danger in trying to make a very short speech, because a speech on this issue could...

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rose—

I will come to the hon. Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman); I am working my way round to him.

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate and on his excellent speech. Many constitue...

Information is important, but someone may have the best information in the world and yet happen t...

I am most grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I congratulate him on securing this debate and support ...

I would certainly like to see more work done on the compulsory microchipping that is going to com...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. As he will know, since the very sad death ...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her intervention and commend her for the work she has done on...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution in securing the debate and for everything that he...

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. We want action to be taken, but if we can send one message...

Further to the previous intervention, one role that Members of Parliament can play is to promote ...

My hon. Friend makes his point and I will just say again, yes, I agree. It could not be simpler: ...

At a recent meeting I had with the Friends of Wyndham Square in Stonehouse, I heard about the num...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. Not only do I think it should be looked...

rose—

Order. I remind the House that there is a five-minute limit on Back-Bench speeches, as there is h...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello) on securing this timely d...

Order. The hon. Lady’s time is up.

12.12 pm

I am pleased to have this opportunity to take part in the debate. I am grateful to the Backbench ...

Many of us are here because of the weight of opinion that our constituents give to this matter, b...

My hon. Friend’s early intervention leads me to my next point.

Over the summer, we have rig...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will finish my point.

William Wilberforce had his eyes fixed not only on ending slavery a...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I want to make some progress.

The issue that brings us here today is that of the profits an...

The hon. Lady has shown amazing ingenuity in bringing Iraq, Ukraine and the slave trade into a de...

The hon. Gentleman cannot have heard that point being raised by other hon. Members on both sides ...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to catch your eye in this important and well-att...

I also have a number of constituents who have been campaigning very hard on this issue. Hopefully...

I agree, but as the Chair of the Select Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malto...

I thank my hon. Friend for so generously giving way. I know that time is running short, but I hop...

My hon. Friend is exactly right. We should enforce existing legislation with random inspections s...

I am extremely grateful to have this opportunity to speak in this important debate. As my inbox a...

My hon. Friend is right to point out that often the people who purchase these animals do not real...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Often those dogs go on to have terrible health condition...

I am very interested in the hon. Lady’s point about regulation. Although there is a role for cent...

The hon. Gentleman is quite right and has some expertise in this area. There are councils that ha...

I, too, pay tribute to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello) for bringing this...

Does my hon. Friend’s point not emphasise that local authorities not only have an important role ...

I absolutely accept my hon. Friend’s point. Another point that we should make, however, is that t...

I wish to associate myself with the comments made by hon. Members from all parts of the House, de...

Does the hon. Gentleman share my concern that although a lot of the onus of enforcing these regul...

That is an extremely fair point. Local authorities in Wales are looking at a 4% cut in their budg...

As a dog lover, I shall focus my comments today on dogs. Dogs have a unique bond with us humans. ...

My dogs don’t love me.

That does not surprise me.

When people’s dogs or animals need medical attention, they worry...

Why cannot Conservative Back Benchers be given this same love and care?

I think that depends which side of the House they are on.

May I just say for the record that I and my office have received more e-mails and letters on this...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, because he highlights the reason that we have all had so much co...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Elmet and Rothwell (Alec Shelbrooke), a fellow Wes...

On that last point, does my hon. Friend think that the changes to the scheme due to come into for...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that point, which I was going to comment on later. Th...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I am very happy to give way to another West Ham United supporter. [Hon. Members: “Oh!”]

I am delighted that we have three in one debate. May I reinforce the hon. Gentleman’s point about...

The hon. Gentleman makes the point very well. I hope the Minister will comment in his closing rem...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way to a supporter of fantastic Gillingham footbal...

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. As I said, I hope the Minister responds regarding the int...

rose—

I call the Gentleman in the Dogs Trust tie, Mr Simon Kirby.

12.59 pm

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am a long-time supporter of Pup Aid and I pay tribute to the w...

As we are imagining what it is like in those conditions, can we imagine a human child being separ...

My hon. Friend draws a good parallel. It is important to note that cats and dogs have no voice. H...

My hon. Friend is making a very powerful point about the importance of the potential buyer seeing...

Absolutely—I agree entirely. We heard earlier that some puppies are separated when as young as fo...

The hon. Gentleman will have heard an earlier intervention about the problems of local authority ...

I take the hon. Gentleman’s point on board. There are a number of issues involved. I hope that to...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello) on securing thi...

What stage are the draft Welsh regulations at? Are they out for consultation, are they being intr...

I will refer to that. The hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards) mentione...

I start by echoing the remarks of the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen): this has been a ver...

The right hon. Gentleman is making an important point about chipping. Of course, the more dogs th...

That is absolutely right and I hope that when the Minister responds he will tell us more about ho...

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello) for securing this deba...

It is an absolute pleasure to follow such a powerful speech, which drew on a long track record on...

I sometimes feel that we do not fully understand who the people are who run those places. There i...

I thank the hon. Lady for that important intervention. The evidence shows that 95% of people woul...

We have heard many important speeches on puppy farms, but I hope that it will also be acknowledge...

I thank my hon. Friend for that important intervention—my cats, Monty and Maggie, will have cheer...

I am pleased to be taking part in this debate. Like other Members, I would like first to congratu...

I just want the hon. Gentleman to know that many people in Wokingham entirely echo his sentiments...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that intervention. It is very welcome, coming as it does fro...

Obviously, this is an emotive and emotional debate, especially for those of us who have welcomed ...

I am listening to the thrust of my hon. Friend’s speech. He has named the different pieces of leg...

That is a fair point and it leads directly to the last point that I need to make. All too often i...

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point about the legislation being in place. Does he agree that co...

That point is absolutely right.

We have to resist the temptation to legislate. I say gently...

Would my hon. Friend like to explain how he would expect consumers to divine hidden illnesses amo...

That is a fair point, but we can send out the message that if people go to a responsible dog bree...

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this debate, and I offer my congratulations to the ...

I share the hon. Lady’s concern about puppy farming. Banning puppy sales is one way of tackling t...

I certainly agree that we need to do that. My slight concern is that although some hon. Members a...

I will keep my remarks brief. I am concerned that a number of people no longer think that owning ...

As a member of the Backbench Business Committee I am pleased that we are debating this subject, a...

My hon. Friend and I came to the House on the same day, and he will recall that since the late Ni...

I agree with my hon. Friend. We have stood shoulder to shoulder for more than 30 years, together ...

When pressing the Minister, will my hon. Friend bear in mind that it is all very well our hon. Fr...

I agree with my hon. Friend, although I am not sure about his earlier remarks about the castratio...

It is a privilege to speak at the end of this debate, because it has been a good debate and all p...

My hon. Friend is making such a superb speech that I think we need to hear an extra minute, so ma...

My hon. Friend highlights not only that dogs can help people with certain tasks that they are una...

It is a pleasure to speak in this important debate about the sale of puppies and kittens and the ...

I begin by congratulating the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello), who I know ha...

Will the Minister give way?

Let me finish the point. Since that time, it would be fair to say—from all the representations ma...

Before the Minister concludes, will he respond on the issue of local authority resources, which w...

All I can say on that issue is that the internet will make it easier for some local authorities t...

First, I congratulate all right hon. and hon. Members who have taken part in today’s debate on th...