After police dog Finn was attacked with a knife in 2016, his handler, PC Dave Wardell, worked tirelessly to ensure service animals received the protection they deserved and to further deter similar crimes. In recent years, IFAW has been very proud to support Finn and Dave`s successful campaign to pass Finn`s Law. We are not proposing to provide a sample letter because we believe our campaign will be more successful if MEPs learn the many reasons why people support this campaign. We are ready to handle any letter you write if you want us to help you. On the page, you will find some facts that might surprise you. They can also help you understand some of the difficulties that this lack of proper justice has caused. July 2019 – I was also a strong supporter of increased penalties for cruelty to animals and spoke at second reading debate on the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act. On July 23, I was a member of the Bills Committee, where I spoke at length in favour of increasing sentences. The campaign was conducted positively at my request and that of my family and it was wonderful to see so many thousands of people getting involved. Of course, our service animals have a great reputation, as they should. We now need to make sure we follow up on this incredible news about #FinnsLaw with #FinnsLawPart2, increased penalties, as soon as possible.
The law is named after Finn, a police dog who was stabbed to death while chasing a suspect with his PC dog handler David Wardell. Finn was seriously stabbed in the chest and head, but his attacker could only be charged with property damage. At IFAW, we are committed to improving the lives of dogs and other animals in the UK and around the world, including ensuring that the animals that protect us are in turn protected from the law. In 2017, we awarded Finn the IFAW Animal of the Year Award in recognition of his outstanding courage and the efforts of his dog handler Dave in the Finn`s Law campaign. At the awards ceremony, they met with their MP, Sir Oliver Heald, who championed the campaign and worked to bring much-needed legislative changes to Parliament. To learn more about Finn and Dave`s story, their campaign and IFAW`s commitment, click here. According to the group that led the campaign for the law, more than 100 other service animals have been injured since 2012. These include injuries such as hitting with an iron bar, kicking or hitting by a car. December 5, 2017- I made a speech in the House of Commons, you can read it here. This gave impetus to the parliamentary campaign for the “Finns Act”. July 2018 – Today, I introduced my Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act in the House of Commons for second reading. The bill has moved to the next stage, where it will be thoroughly reviewed by a committee of MPs.
I also argued in favour of the Animal Welfare Act in a question from the Prime Minister on 10 July. As a compassionate and caring society, we have an obligation to legally protect the animals that serve and protect us. The new legislation will make a real difference to these animals and is a step in the right direction for animal welfare in Northern Ireland. April 12, 2019 – Finn`s Act recently completed its final stages in the House of Lords with the support of Lord Trenchard and received Royal Assent on April 8. The Animal Welfare Act comes into force on 8 June. Yesterday, the Service Animal Act, also known as Finn`s Law, was debated and passed unanimously by the Northern Ireland Assembly. June 2018 – I received support from Michael Gove of DEFRA for a new bill – the Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Bill – and replaced it with my original. Although the new law was blocked on June 15, it will return on July 6 and everyone at Finn`s Law is hoping for progress. We would now like to encourage the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and his officials to move quickly and bring forward the necessary public consultations and legislation, recognizing that there is a short window of opportunity as there are only two years left in the current Parliament.
You may be surprised to learn that under UK law, there is no specific offence for injuring a police animal in the course of its duties. Attacks on police animals take place on a daily basis, but very few are prosecuted by the courts because there is no appropriate crime. While Finn`s case is fortunately an extreme case, it is by no means unknown. FinnsLaw is a campaign led by a group of volunteers to change this. We are saying that police animals should be recognized for the important role they play. Part of this recognition should be the creation of a specific criminal offence to harm them. The Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act, known as Finn`s Law, will prevent those who attack or injure service animals from asserting self-defence. 2 April 2019 – The Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act has entered its final phase in the House of Lords, with Lord Trenchard paying tribute to all those involved in the Finn Law campaign. The law is now becoming law and is a big step forward in protecting service animals such as police dogs and horses when attacked. When the bill was passed, Finn, who was sitting in the public gallery of the House of Lords, let out a big bark. Finn and Dave even attended IFAW`s 50th anniversary celebration in the Houses of Parliament and met many MPs who supported the bill (and loved to pose for photos with Finn) as well as our own President and CEO, Azzedine Downes.
IFAW celebrates the introduction of Finnish law, but our work doesn`t stop there On behalf of all IFAW, we would like to congratulate Dave and Finn for their hard work, as well as a big thank you to MP Sir Oliver Heald and all the other MPs and peers who helped make Finnish law a reality! This important amendment to the Animal Welfare Act is named after a police dog named Finn, who was nearly killed while protecting his owner, Dave Wardell, from a teenager armed with a knife.
