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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the single animal activities licensing regime to regulate online sales.

Defra is currently in the process of developing a new single animal activities licensing regime. The regulations will be laid in Parliament before they come into force next year. The regulations will be clear that anyone in the business of selling pet animals will need a licence whether this is carried out from a traditional pet shop or online. Commercial pet animal advertisers will also be required to include certain information in their advertisements including details of their licence.