Animal Cruelty Consultation

What is this consultation about? The current sentencing guideline for animal cruelty, which can be found here , encompasses offences contrary to the following sections of the Animal Welfare Act 2006: section 4 (unnecessary suffering), section 8 (fighting, etc.) and section 9 (breach of duty of person responsible for animal to ensure welfare). The guideline was last revised in 2017 and, until 2021, the offences it covered were summary only, triable in magistrates’ courts and subject to a maximum penalty of six months’ custody. In 2021, Parliament passed the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill, which increased the maximum sentence for specific offences under the 2006 Act from six months’ to five years’ custody and made these either way offences, meaning they could be heard in magistrates’ courts or the Crown Court. The following offences were impacted by the change: Causing unnecessary suffering (section 4, Animal Welfa