"Outrageous" - that's how the West of England's Metro Mayor described ministers' decision to pull the plug on a new law that would have cracked down on cruel puppy smuggling.

The Kept Animals Bill – which also included a ban on primates as pets, and exporting live animals for slaughter and fattening - was in the Conservatives' election manifesto.

But in an update to Parliament on May 25, the Government said all the plans had been ditched.

Dan Norris, a life-long animal welfare advocate, branded the announcement a "dereliction of duty", and accused the Prime Minister of breaking his promises. During last summer's Conservative Party leadership campaign, Sunak was asked if he would support the bill completing its passage through the Commons. He said: "The simple answer is of course, yes."

Norris pointed to other Conservative decisions to row back on promises to improve animal welfare standards, including them scrapping plans to ban the import of foie gras and fur earlier this year as he declared that "the Nasty Party is well and truly back".

The Labour Mayor said: "This outrageous decision proves yet again that the Nasty Party is well and truly back – in fact, arguably, it never went away. It's nothing less than a dereliction of duty - the clearest of signals that ministers do not see animal welfare as a priority, and that we have a Prime Minister too weak to deliver his own legislation. It means innocent animals will continue to suffer - more puppies smuggled, more animals transported on long, perilous, and often fatal journeys by ship. The truth is that Tory ministers are completely out of touch with the public on this. How we treat animals shows if we are a civilised society. West of England residents want to see a government that fully rejects animal cruelty and that strengthens welfare standards, not one that degrades them further."

The government today (May 26) defended its position with DEFRA posting the comment from Farming Minister Mark Spencer who said:

In this country, we pride ourselves on our high standards of animal welfare, and we have introduced powerful laws to maintain them.

We are delivering on our manifesto promises and continue to explore ways to enhance our position as a global leader on animal welfare.

We are also supporting Private Members' Bills currently before Parliament banning the import of detached shark fins, banning the import of hunting trophies and banning the advertising and offering for sale here of unacceptably low animal welfare activities abroad.

Action we've already delivered on animal welfare since 2010 includes:

• Recognised animal sentience in law and introduced accountability to Parliament for how well all government policy decisions pay due regard to the welfare needs of animals.
• Ramped up enforcement with:
• Increased maximum sentences for animal cruelty from six months to five years' imprisonment.
• New financial penalty notice powers in addition to other existing penalties under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
• New protections for service animals with 'Finn's Law'.
• Raised farm animal welfare:
• Launched the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway with new annual vet visits and grants.
• Implemented a revised welfare at slaughter regime and introduced CCTV in all slaughterhouses.
• Banned traditional battery cages for laying hens, permitted beak trimming via only infra-red technology.
• Raised standards for meat chickens.
• Significantly enhanced companion animal welfare:
• Revamped the local authority licensing regime for commercial pet services including selling, dog breeding, boarding, animal displays.
• Banned the third party puppy and kitten sales with Lucy's Law.
• Made microchipping compulsory for cats and dogs.
• Introduced offences for horse fly-grazing and abandonment
• Introduced new community order powers to address dog issues
• Provided valuable new protections for wild animals:
• Banned wild animals in travelling circuses.
• Passed the Ivory Act which came into force last year, including one of the toughest bans on elephant ivory sales in the world, and extended it to five further species.
• Gave the police additional powers to tackle hare coursing.
• Banned glue traps.
• Supported the Private Member's Bill currently before Parliament banning the import of hunting trophies.
• Supported the Private Member's Bill currently before Parliament banning trade in detached shark fins.
• Supported the Private Member's Bill currently before Parliament banning the advertising and offering for sale here of unacceptably low animal welfare activities abroad.