Minister expresses sympathy with the need to fight animal cruelty

Mr Poots replied: “I am sympathetic to the creation of a register of those convicted of animal welfare offences. However, responsibility for doing so is not entirely within my gift, as conviction data is strictly controlled and managed by the Department of Justice.

“The matter has been considered in detail by my Department and the Department of Justice as part of the review of the implementation of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, which was published in February 2016.

“The creation of such a register is very complex and would require data protection, human rights and prohibitive cost issues to be overcome.

“My officials have engaged with the Department of Justice on the matter and will continue to do so in order to explore whether the issues could be resolved. I am minded to raise the issue with my ministerial colleague Naomi Long, who has responsibility for the Department of Justice, in the first instance.”

Ms Bradley added: “I appreciate the minister’s reply, but horrific and often stomach-churning incidents of animal cruelty have been reported in recent times.

“The impediments that you raise are fair, but there is an urgency in getting past them and finding a way of moving forward.

Mr Chris Lyttle (Alliance, East Belfast) commented that Mr Poots might prove himself to be a Minister for animal welfare “by introducing comprehensive anti-animal cruelty legislation that will include a ban on hunting with dogs and the use of snares”

The minister replied: “We have previously demonstrated how we support animal welfare. I was very heavily involved, as a member of the Assembly and a member of the Justice Committee, in bringing forward the toughest legislation on cruelty to animals anywhere in these islands. So, I do not think I have to prove myself to the member.

“I have already demonstrated what I am worth on these issues. We will look logically at all these matters.”

Mr Trevor Clarke (DUP, South Antrim) commented: “I listened carefully to what the minister said about these registers not necessarily working in other areas. I concur with that. Will the minister, with his colleagues, work against those who finish up on a register to make sure that the penalty for those involved is much more severe than names being recorded? Many of us know the names that would appear on it any how.

Mr Poots replied: “We probably all recall the awful case of Cody the dog. My colleague Mr Givan was heavily involved in raising all the issues surrounding that case, which ended in a custodial sentence.

“In my view, the individual who caused such suffering to that animal should never be able to allowed to keep an animal again in his life.

“Other incidents have come across very clearly on our news screens over the years. People have been successfully prosecuted, and what we heard from those prosecutions is truly awful. We need to take action where we can against people who go out of their way to be cruel and do real harm to animals.

“One of the actions I want taken against them is that they are never able to keep animals.

“That is why I have substantial sympathy with the member who asked the original question, because having a register may be helpful in allowing us to do that. I am just saying it is going to be very difficult to create it.”