Pets: Ticks

(asked on 18th November 2020) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the merits of reintroducing compulsory tick treatment for pets at UK borders.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 27th November 2020

Tick surveillance has shown that tick distribution and abundance is changing throughout the UK for many reasons, including habitat and climate change. Small numbers of localised infestations with non-native tick species have been reported in recent years. For these reasons, Defra strongly encourages pet owners to treat their pets to safeguard their animals against ticks and tick transmitted diseases when travelling abroad. Further advice can be obtained from their local vet, and via the Public Health England leaflet available on GOV.UK.

While Defra has no immediate plans to amend the tick controls for pet animals entering the UK, the end of the Transition Period will open up new opportunities for managing our Pet Travel rules. We remain aware of the concerns around ticks and tick-borne disease, and future policy will be guided by risk assessment. Defra also continues to monitor the disease situation through the Tick Surveillance Scheme.

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