People convicted of animal cruelty face longer prison sentences under plans to clamp down on the worst abuses.
Michael Gove, the environment secretary, suggested yesterday that the maximum penalty of six months was too low. “There are particular cases of animal cruelty where we may well need to revisit the existing criminal sanctions to ensure that the very worst behaviour is dealt with using the full force of the law,” he told the Commons.
In January the government rejected a Commons environment select committee recommendation that the maximum sentence should be increased to five years. Mr Gove also confirmed that the government was planning new restrictions on live animal exports.
Fewer than one in ten people convicted of animal cruelty is given an immediate custodial sentence and the average sentence is just over three months.
In a speech today at the headquarters of WWF, the conservation charity, in Woking, Surrey, Mr Gove will promise a “green Brexit”, which sets global gold standards on policies including pesticides and wildlife protection.
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He will describe himself as an environmentalist because he cares about animals, draws inspiration from nature and finds its beauty important but also because of the “hard calculation” needed to protect the natural world or face disaster. He will also say that Brexit will mean taking back control of environmental policy.
He will add: “We now have an historic opportunity to review our policies on agriculture, land use, biodiversity, woodlands . . . and so much more.”