I was delighted to be elected Co-Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare last week.
Having campaigned for better treatment of animals for a number of years, I’m honoured to have been entrusted with this responsibility. I’ll be working closely with key welfare organisations to improve treatment of animals.
My inbox is regularly full with emails from people across Crawley contacting me on animal welfare matters – these are issues I’ve campaigned on since before I was elected to Parliament, so I’m pleased to now be in a position to continue our work on this cause.
Importantly, this Group brings together cross-party political members with associate members. These are the organisations and individuals outside of parliament who hold an interest or involvement with animals.
It was originally formed to raise the profile of animal welfare in Westminster, and has always been a well-respected group. Over the last five years the associate membership has increased considerably, demonstrating the growing interest in this subject.
The associate members often have thousands of their own members and donors, so when we come together under the All-Party Parliamentary Group we have a wide reach.
The range of members goes from from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Cats Protection and the Dogs Trust, to the RSPCA, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the British Veterinary Association. There are also various individual veterinary professionals and academics, and in total there are close to 100 associate members. Between them all the Group has expertise on every topic and every species!
In developing a strategy for the Group, I would also like to consider the important ongoing areas like welfare at slaughter and live transportation of farm animals. This continues on from the debate I launched earlier this year in the House of Commons, calling for mandatory CCTV in all UK slaughterhouses. I worked with Animal Aid on this matter, who uncovered some shocking abuses of animals in this country.
I am always interested in hearing the views of people in Crawley on these matters. If you have any points you would like to put to me, please write to me at the House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA, call my office on 01293 934554, or email me directly at: henry.smith.mp@parliament.uk
I will look to take your concerns on board ahead of my next meeting with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare.