• While it is believed that the Animal Welfare Act is a valuable document, enforcement of its remits need to be strengthened
• A range of recommendations are made focusing on the following areas:
• The effectiveness of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 with regard to domestic pets
• Regulation surrounding the sale of domestic pets, including online sales and advertising
• Enforcement of current animal welfare legislation, including prosecution of offences by the police, local authorities, the RSPCA and others
• Recommendations include
• Introduction of an effective licensing system (for breeders and dog owners)
• Bans on selling and advertising dogs on the internet
• Community education events for dog owners
• Introduction of a competitive system to decide on the authorised animal welfare enforcement agency
• Greater investment in ground services such as number of inspector
