Gen Kitchen MP: As a nation of animal lovers we should all welcome this new strategy

The reforms will crack down on the cruel practice of puppy farming, where breeding dogs are kept in appalling conditions, often overbred, and denied proper care.

These inhumane practices often result in puppies suffering from long-term health issues. Something I know my rescue dog Peanut will be happy to see stopped!

We have banned puppy smuggling by introducing a new law which limits non-commercial pet movements to five per vehicle and requires pets travelling separately to arrive in the country within five days of their owner.

The imports of dogs and cats under six months old or those that are heavily pregnant will also be banned. This will address the rise in "Dubai Cats" that residents in Higham Ferrers have contacted me about.

This comes after the passing of the Renters’ Rights Bill which will stop landlords unfairly refusing to let properties to tenants with pets.

In a country where 51% of the population own a pet but only 7% of private landlords advertise that they accept them, this is a welcome move.

But it’s not just pets that will be protected by the Government’s reforms, farm and wild animals will too.

Tougher new penalties and greater police powers will help to prevent farm animals in England and Wales from dog attacks.

A shocking 10 million egg-laying hens in England are stuck in colony cages – each with little more space than an A4 sheet paper. We will rightly phase this out.

We will also address welfare concerns around the use of high-concentration CO₂ for stunning of pigs, consult on introducing standards for the humane killing of fish, ban trail hunting and much more.

My husband and I were rehomed one of our much-loved dogs, a one-eyed pug named Peanut, from the Dog’s Trust, so I was really pleased to see what their Chief Executive, Owen Sharp had to say about the reforms:

“We welcome the Government’s new Animal Welfare Strategy, particularly its commitment to delivering the measures set out in the recently passed Animal Welfare Bill, which will prevent the import of underage puppies, heavily pregnant dogs and dogs with mutilations.

"We are also pleased that the Government plans to consult on the regulation of rehoming centres.

“We have seen too many cases of neglect and fatalities involving dogs at the hands of unregulated individuals, and the public strongly supports mandatory licensing and regular inspections.

"We look forward to working with the Government to ensure the Strategy is implemented swiftly and effectively, so that all dogs are properly protected.”

As a nation of animal lovers, we should all welcome this ambitious strategy.