The discovery of 117 dead dogs at a California rescue centre has sent shockwaves through the animal welfare world. And it is prompting uncomfortable questions about regulation in the US. But here in Westminster, the mood is not one of smugness. It is one of vigilance.
Reports from Kern County describe a scene of absolute horror. The dogs, many of them emaciated, were found stacked in cages. Some had been dead for weeks. The smell, they say, was unbearable. The operator of the ‘rescue’ has been arrested. But the damage is done.
For years, British animal welfare groups have looked across the Atlantic with a mixture of pity and frustration. Our own laws, they argue, are the gold standard. The Animal Welfare Act 2006, the strict licensing requirements for breeders, the ban on puppy farms. It all works. Or does it?
I spent this morning on the phone to a senior figure at the RSPCA. Off the record, they were candid. ‘We have the framework,’ they said. ‘But enforcement is patchy. Budgets are stretched. And the online trade in animals is booming.’ The message was clear. We cannot afford to be complacent.
Privately, Conservative MPs are worried. The party has always positioned itself as the party of law and order. But animal welfare is a cross-party issue. Labour has been pushing for tougher sentences for animal cruelty. Some Tories are muttering about a ‘Licensing of Animal Sales’ bill. Don’t be surprised if a private member’s bill emerges.
Downing Street was tight-lipped today. But I hear the PM’s animal welfare tsar has been in meetings all week. The California case will be used as a catalyst. Expect a government response within days. Possibly a review of inspection regimes.
But the real story here is the gap between law and practice. The US has the Animal Welfare Act too. It just isn’t enforced. Britain is different. But not as different as we like to think. Local authorities are stretched. The number of animal welfare inspectors has fallen. And the public is largely unaware.
One thing is certain. This tragedy will not be forgotten quickly. In Westminster, the phones are ringing. The letters are being drafted. And somewhere in Whitehall, a civil servant is writing a very long memo. Watch this space.
