| Companion Animals
The use of the phrase ‘companion animal’ is used to describe the domestic animals which we may refer to as a ‘pet’ including cats, dogs, horses, small furries, ornamental fish and caged birds. Under this area, issues like dog breeding and puppy farming often arise as well as the tricky subject referred to as dangerous dogs. There has been move towards improving welfare for companion animals since the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which set out specific guidelines for a duty of care for pet owners.
Key Issues
APGAW has done a great deal of work on the breeding, dealing and trading of puppies including looking at health issues around pedigree dogs. We have published two high profile reports on dog welfare with a focus on breed and health and in 2015 published the APGAW Dog Strategy which set out 21 recommendations to take forward to improve responsible dog ownership, breeding of dogs and controls over sale of dogs.The Group has done a lot of work on responsible dog ownership and drove the updating of legislation on Livestock Worrying in the Kept Animals Bill 2021.
APGAW has also been central in driving Government to introduce new Regulations on the Licensing of Pet Activities such as breeding, vending and boarding. These new Regulations came into force in 2018 to control commercial sales of small furries, exotics and dogs. APGAW produced the Rabbit Good Welfare Code and is working on improving other species’ welfare through collaborative, cross sector working.
| News from APGAW
WILDLIFE ROUNDTABLE
APGAW held a roundtable session chaired by Giles Watling MP and attended by police, NWCU, RSPCA, NatureWatch and a number of other experts to discuss wildlife crime and what needs to be done to tackle it. The following points were discussed: Wildlife & Rural Crime...
Notes from the Dog Breeding Roundtable
APGAW held a roundtable session in December bringing together the key stakeholders such as the Canine & Feline Sector Group, Vet Compass, Kennel Club, RSPCA, British Veterinary Association, Dogs Trust and RCVS to update Parliament on what improvements have been...
Pedigree Dog Health Update
In 2009 APGAW ran an enquiry into pedigree dog health and published this report: A Healthier Future for Pedigree Dogs Later this year we intend to pick up on this work again as we recognise whilst there have been some improvements in health testing and conformation...
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