Farm animal welfare charity urges Sherwood MP Mark Spencer to ban live exports

The visit to the Mr Spencer’s office, on Vine Terrace, was the third stop on the farm animal welfare charity Compassion in World Farming’s ‘Ad Van Tour’ of the country, visiting offices of four Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs ministers and the Prime Minister.

Former chief whip and leader of the house Mr Spencer, a farmer and Conservative MP for Sherwood, is food, farming and fisheries minister,

The Kept Animals Bill, which will see a ban on the trade, was first published in May 2021, but has been stalled in Parliament for more than a year.

The charity has been from Somerset to Suffolk before coming to Nottinghamshire and the tour will continue to the Lake District and Yorkshire.

At each stop, the charity is handing over a model animal transport lorry filled with signatures of more than 27,000 people who added their names to a recent petition that demands the Kept Animals Bill passes through Parliament and into law without further delay.

James West, CWF senior policy manager, said: “The Kept Animals Bill has not progressed in Parliament since November 2021 and the Government simply aren’t making it a priority.

“By taking our campaign to the doorsteps of those who can advance this Bill, we are making it impossible for them to ignore it any longer.

“Live exports cause overcrowding, stress, exhaustion, dehydration, hunger and even death. This cruel trade must end.

"Ministers won’t take the Kept Animals Bill back to the House of Commons to secure a British live export ban, so we are making sure their constituents know about it.

"This legislation has cross-party support and is ready for its final stages in the House of Commons. So, what is the Government waiting for?”

A Defra spokesman, on behalf of Mr Spencer, said: “We are fully committed to delivering our manifesto commitments on animal welfare, including ending the export of live animals, clamping down on puppy smuggling and banning the keeping of primates as pets. The date for the next stage of the Bill will be announced in the usual way.”