USPCA calls for updated welfare guidelines
USPCA saw 6,691 cases reported to local councils in 2022.
The Ulster Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA) has published a report which recommends urgent reform to Northern Ireland’s animal welfare sentencing guidelines.
The Case for Change report suggests that Northern Ireland’s sentencing guidance is behind its contemporaries. The USPCA says that this could mean those guilty of animal welfare offences are not receiving appropriate sentences.
Northern Ireland is currently seeing thousands of animal welfare issues reported each year, with 6,691 cases reported to local councils in 2022.
Despite this, the USPCA believes that the guidance given to courts for sentencing those who have committed animal welfare crimes is outdated.
The USPCA’s report references key changes that have been made in recent years to the guidelines used by courts in England and Wales. It highlights regular updates made to these guidelines, which Northern Ireland has not made.
It sets out eight recommendations for the sentencing guidelines, which the USPCA believes will ensure those responsible for animal cruelty will receive appropriate sentencing to reflect the seriousness of their crime.
The report suggests that Northern Ireland's guidelines should be regularly updated to meet best practice and recent updates in England and Wales. There should also be continued monitoring of sentencing in these jurisdictions and future research into the enforcement of animal welfare laws.
The findings of the report have already received cross-party support and the USPCA has said it will work with all parties as well as the All-Party Group on Animal Welfare to enact the recommendations.
Nora Smith, USPCA chief executive, said: "Animals experience positive and negative feelings such as pleasure, joy, pain, and distress, as recognised in the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022. Despite this, animals continue to suffer unnecessary and horrific cruelty.
"In Northern Ireland, thousands of animal welfare issues are reported every year, with 5,916 reported in 2021 and 6,691 in 2022 to local councils alone.
"Sentencing is a complex and nuanced process; however, in England and Wales, guidelines have been updated regularly. Northern Ireland is lagging behind and needs to reform its approach to animal welfare offences.”
John Blair MLA, chair of the All-Party Group on Animal Welfare, said: "The All-Party Group welcomes the launch of this report and fully supports the recommendations from the USPCA. For too long, we have seen those responsible for some of the cruellest acts of animal welfare offences receiving sentences that do not match the crime.”
The full report can be found here.
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