The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF) is delighted to welcome Dame Rebecca Harris DBE MP as a Patron.
Dame Rebecca Harris has been serving Castle Point as the Member of Parliament since 2010, covering South Benfleet, Hadleigh, Thundersley, Daws Heath and Canvey Island. Since 2024, following boundary changes, in addition to these areas she also now represents the people of Bowers Gifford in Parliament.
As a former Government Whip and Comptroller of his Majesty’s Household, it was Rebecca’s responsibility to ensure that all the Government legislation brought before the Parliament becomes law and to help guide the passage of Private Members Bills through the House of Commons. Rebecca guided the landmark Government Bill to ban live exports for slaughter and fattening through the Commons. It became law in May 2024. She was successful in supporting a record number of backbench MPs bringing forward their proposals to change the law. Some of the most recent legislation includes world-leading animal welfare legislation such the Glue Traps (Offences) Act, Animals (Penalty Notices) Act, Shark Fins Act and Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act, the Pet Abduction Act and the ban on keeping primates as pets.
Rebecca recently presented the Pets( Microchips) Bill (Tuk’s Law) in the House of Commons. The Bill proposes that no healthy or treatable pet can be euthanised by a vet without having its microchip scanned first. It also proposes that no pet can be put to sleep without the permission of its registered owner and that all other options for rehousing a healthy or treatable pet have to be exhausted before euthanasia is considered.
Lorraine Platt, Co-Founder of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, commented: “We are pleased to welcome Dame Rebecca Harris as a Patron of CAWF. Dame Rebecca recently hosted our Animals Matter joint reception with the RSPCA, HSI UK, CIWF, and Four Paws at the Conservative Party Conference in 2024 in Birmingham. We have always greatly appreciated Rebecca’s support for our animal welfare campaigns and look forward to working with her more closely to help advance animal welfare”.
