Nia has defended the RSPCA’s use of the courts to combat animal cruelty, in the face of an ugly attack on the charity by Simon Hart, Conservative MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembs during a parliamentary debate which he called in order to criticise the RSPCA for using funds to bring prosecutions.
Challenging his stance in the debate, Nia said, “As one of the MPs on the committee which worked on the Animal Welfare Bill in 2006, I was keen to see legislation that was workable and enforceable. But there is no point in making laws, if they are not then enforced.”
” The RSPCA, founded in 1824, has been using prosecutions as a last resort for nearly 200 years. I myself have been out with RSPCA officers, and I know that they do all they can to advise, educate and help people to care for their animals properly, but, if those measures fail, prosecutions are important, both to bring perpetrators of animal cruelty to justice, and to act as a deterrent to others. The Charity Commission has confirmed that the RSPCA has ‘acted within its remit’ in bringing prosecutions.”