By Will Durrant
Llamas and alpacas should receive legal protections from dog attacks, MPs have agreed.
Dog owners already face a fine if their pet attacks or worries farm animals listed in the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, such as cattle, sheep, pigs and horses.
But after a Commons debate, MPs have agreed to add 鈥渃amelids鈥 to this list, giving llamas and alpacas in England and Wales similar protections as they have in Scotland.
The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill, which now faces further scrutiny in the Lords at a later date, will also see unlimited fines rolled out in dog attack cases, lifting a 拢1,000 cap.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e no laughing matter, alpacas and llamas,鈥 Labour MP Peter Lamb said.
鈥淭he Inca empire never developed the wheel.
鈥淭he entirety of that empire was built off the back of alpacas and llamas and, as a result, they are an animal that鈥檚 worthy of great respect.鈥
Mr Lamb said he had heard of 鈥減retty harrowing cases of what happened to that livestock鈥 at a centre in Tilgate Park in Crawley, West Sussex, where he was the borough council leader.
鈥淚n one case, a sheep was just literally set on fire whilst still alive and while the Bill does not directly deal with that, I think some of the mentality that goes into disrespecting these animals is worthy of note,鈥 he said.
鈥淏ut what we have done is very often, far more often than that, had dogs set on these animals, or at least, people have not been in control of these.
鈥淎nd we鈥檝e eventually had to remove the sheep entirely from the publicly accessible areas on the basis of that.鈥
Conservative MP for Chester South and Eddisbury Aphra Brandreth, who proposed the private member鈥檚 Bill, told the Commons: 鈥淟ivestock worrying, as we know, has devastating consequences for both animals and farmers.鈥
She added: 鈥淭he damage of a livestock attack can be horrific, causing brutal injuries which are tragically often fatal.
鈥淭here are instances of stress causing pregnant livestock to miscarry, and separation of mothers and young leading to hypothermia or starvation.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen pictures from farmers in my constituency where attacks have mutilated their calves beyond any hope of keeping them alive.
鈥淭he consequences, no matter what the scale of an attack, are profound.鈥
As part of the draft new law, authorities would get the powers to treat attacking livestock as separate to 鈥渨orrying鈥, which includes chasing farm animals in a way which could cause injury, suffering or loss or 鈥渄iminution in their produce鈥.
The Bill would also expand the 1953 Act鈥檚 scope, which applies on agricultural land, to roads and paths, where animals might be herded.
Labour MP Mike Reader praised Ms Brandreth for her 鈥渞esponsible and balanced approach鈥.
The Northampton South MP said it was 鈥減ositive that this expands that definition to roads and paths, because it sets clear requirements that when someone is accessing land, particularly throughout Northamptonshire where there鈥檙e so many paths that run through farmland, there鈥檚 a clear definition in the law to both protect farmers but also to set clear boundaries for those who are perhaps walking their dogs鈥 when they access farmland鈥.
Environment minister Emma Hardy said the Government was 鈥渇ully committed to supporting this important Bill as it progresses through the other place鈥, before the Bill cleared the Commons at third reading.