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The most significant animal welfare legislation for nearly a century has been published by Defra.

The Animal Welfare Bill, which applies to England and Wales, was introduced in the House of Commons yesterday and published today.

Animal Welfare Minister Ben Bradshaw said: "Once this legislation is enacted, our law will be worthy of our reputation as a nation of animal lovers.

"We are raising standards of animal welfare.  Anyone who is responsible for an animal will have to do all that is reasonable to meet the needs of their animal.

"This is a much more appropriate way to ensure an animal's welfare than relying on a 94-year-old law that was only designed to prevent outright cruelty."

The Bill will:-

* Reduce animal suffering by enabling preventive action to be taken before suffering occurs.

* Improve animal welfare by introducing a duty on those responsible for animals to do all that is reasonable to ensure the welfare of their animals (for the first time for non-farmed animals).

* Simplify animal welfare legislation for enforcers and animal keepers by bringing more than 20 pieces of legislation into one.

* Deter persistent offenders by strengthening penalties and eliminating loopholes. For example, those causing unnecessary suffering to an animal will face up to 51 weeks in prison, a fine of up to £20,000, or both.

* Extend the power to make secondary legislation and brings current licensing powers into one place.

* Extend to companion animals the use of welfare codes agreed by Parliament, a mechanism currently used to ensure the welfare of farmed animals.

Mr Bradshaw said: "The vast majority of pet owners and others involved with the care of animals have nothing to fear from this legislation. This Bill is aimed at those few who do not properly fulfil their responsibilities for the animals in their charge. "This Bill will make a real difference to the lives of domestic and kept animals in England and Wales.  I expect it to have wide support across the country and in Parliament."

1.   The duty to take reasonable steps to ensure welfare includes providing for the animals' need for a suitable environment; a suitable diet; the ability to express normal behaviour; any need to be housed with, or apart, from other animals; and freedom from pain, suffering, injury and disease.

2.  The Bill is aimed principally at the keeping of non-farmed animals. Farmed animals already have a high standard of protection.

3.  The Bill primarily replaces the Protection of Animals Act that was first passed in 1911. However, the Bill also brings more than 20 other pieces of legislation into one.

4. The Bill also:

* Strengthens and amends current offences related to animal fighting;

* Increases from 12 to 16 the minimum age at which a child may buy an animal, and prohibits the giving of pets as prizes to unaccompanied children under the age of 16;

* Increases the effectiveness of law enforcement for animal-welfare offences;

* Bans mutilations of animals, with certain specified exemptions.

5. The Bill applies to vertebrates only - principally to those vertebrates in the   care of man. The Bill does not affect animals used in scientific procedures, which are covered by other legislation.

6. In July 2004, Defra launched a draft of the Animal Welfare Bill. This followed an extensive round of public consultation, which began in January 2002.  The House of Commons Select Committee for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs undertook pre-legislative scrutiny on the draft Bill in Autumn 2004 and published its report on 8 December 2004.  Many of the Select Committee's recommendations have been taken up in the Bill as published today in the Commons.

7. Copies of the Animal Welfare Bill, together with Explanatory Notes, can be purchased from The Stationery Office and will be available shortly on the Defra and Parliament websites:

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