MP pleads for cat breeding regulation

Ministers have been urged to press ahead with modernising animal breeding regulations to protect cats as well as dogs.

The issue was highlighted during Defra questions in the House of Commons on 6 February, following a recent report by the Animal Welfare Committee that advises both the department and devolved administrations.

It called for a raft of measures, including an outright ban on breeding from cats with extreme and harmful characteristics.

Conservative MP Peter Bedford called for assurances on the issue, saying he was “amazed” that current breeding regulations only related to dogs.

Welfare implications

In response, minister Daniel Zeichner said: “The Animal Welfare Committee has provided its opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices, and we will be looking at those and coming back with measures in future.”

But he appeared to rule out an amendment to road safety legislation that would make it a legal requirement to report incidents in which cats were in collision with vehicles.

Responding to a question from Labour’s Bell Ribeiro-Addy, he said: “Our advice is that it would be difficult to enforce in practice, but I fully recognise the distress and concern that it causes.”