A member's bill raising the penalty for animal cruelty is to be adopted as a Government bill.

Agriculture Minister David Carter says he will introduce the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill 2010 into Parliament for referral to Select Committee.

The bill, calling for an increase in the maximum sentence for animal cruelty from three to five years, had been advanced by Tauranga MP Simon Bridges.

"I will also be considering whether we can widen the scope of the bill to make the Animal Welfare Act work better," says Mr Carter.

"The adoption of this bill will complement a range of work that the Government already has underway in the animal welfare area.

"Increasing incidences of animal cruelty are horrifying many New Zealanders and the National Government wants to see stronger measures in place to deal with this issue," says Mr Carter.

ENDS