Animal welfare Bill could give tougher prison sentences as nearly 2,000 animal abuse incidents reported in Gloucestershire
The Bill could become law by the end of the week
A Bill being discussed in the House of Lords today could see prison sentences toughened for people who are cruel to animals in Gloucestershire.
In the last year alone officers at the RSPCA in Gloucestershire have reported 1,723 incidents of animal cruelty.
The Bill, brought forward by a West Dorset MP, hopes to increase sentences from six month to fiver years.
It's getting a second reading in the House of lords today and is expected to get Royal Ascent - and become a law - by the end of the week.
Across the whole of the South West region there has been a total of 13,506 incidents.
Chris Loder, MP for West Dorset, said:
“We are just a couple of steps away before Her Majesty The Queen gives her Royal Assent for my Bill to become law and to get justice for animals through tougher sentencing for animal cruelty.
"I was driving home one night and I found a Springer Spaniel abandoned on the side of the road. I took her home and tried to find her owner but it was very clear she had been abused.
"It really pushed home the issue of animal cruelty and that we need to do something about it".
The MP, who is a fourth-generation farmer’s son and an advocate of high animal welfare, is determined to change the law within weeks.
The MP has wide support from cross-party MPs, Defra, the RSPCA, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and other leading animal welfare organisations.