Lord Lexden Pays Tribute to USPCA’s Work in House of Lords

Lord Lexden Pays Tribute to USPCA’s Work in House of Lords Debate 20 November 2013..read transcript

For the first time in 20 years a debate has be held in the House of Lords in Westminster about the welfare of cats and dogs in the UK.

Last night, Lord Black of Brentwood asked ‘What actions the Government is taking to improve the welfare of cats and dogs.

Lord Lexden (Formerly Alistair Cooke) who has a personal connection with Northern Ireland after living and working here  between 1971-1997  paid consideration to animal welfare issues in Northern Ireland and spoke in support of the USPCA’s work in the province.

He paid particular reference to the ‘implementation of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern  Ireland) 2011 ‘ which introduced – very belatedly it must be said -the major new legislative framework…’ highlighting the fact that the enforcement of the law which had previously rested with the police now lay with just 5 Welfare Officers employed within the 26 Councils in Northern Ireland.

Lord Lexden also paid reference to the USPCA’s commitment to education and action in schools regarding the responsibility towards family pets.

He highlighted the need to ‘instil a greater sense of urgency and purpose into the civil servants and officials’ who hold the responsibility of enforcing the law in regards to the animal welfare legislation.

Read an excerpt from the transcript of the debate here or the full debate on the parliament website here