The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee is currently looking into animal welfare in relation to domestic pets, including cats, dogs and horses. It will focus on the Animal Welfare Act which places a legal obligation on owners and keepers of animals to care for them properly. The Committee wants to examine the effectiveness of the Act and its enforcement with regards to domestic animals. It will also look at whether that Act and other existing legislation remains fit for purpose in the age of the internet with regards to the sale of domestic pets.

The Committee is asking for written submissions from people on the following issues:

-The effectiveness of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 with regard to domestic pets; 

-Regulation surrounding the sale of domestic pets, including online sales and advertising; 

-Enforcement of current animal welfare legislation, including prosecution of offences by the police, local authorities, the RSPCA and others; -Comparative approaches to enforcement in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and WalesThe Petitions teamUK Government and Parliament

The deadline for submissions is Thursday 17 March 2016.

You can find out more about the Committee's inquiry here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environment-food-and-rural-affairs-committee/environment-food-and-rural-affairs-sub-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/animal-welfare-domestic-15-16/

You can watch a short video about how Select Committees work here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c&feature=youtu.be

You can find out more about how to send a submission to a Select Committee here: http://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/committees/

You can follow the EFRA Committee on Twitter: @CommonsEFRA