Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help reduce the breeding of animals who are genetically predisposed to brachycephaly.

Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 anyone breeding dogs and advertising a business of selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters of puppies in a twelve-month period must have a licence from their local authority.

Licensees must meet statutory animal welfare standards including a prohibition from breeding dogs if it can be reasonably expected that on the basis of their genotype, phenotype or health, this would lead to welfare problems for the mother or the puppies.

As part of the Animal welfare strategy for England which was published on 22 December 2025, the Government has committed to launch a consultation on dog breeding reform. As part of our consultation, we will consider ways to improve the welfare of breeding dogs and their offspring. Separately, the strategy will see us improve our understanding of the size, scale and current management practices related to cat breeding, drawing on expertise from the sector, and consider any further steps which may improve welfare practices in the cat breeding sector.