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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what training is provided to carrier staff, Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) staff and Animal and Plant Health Agency staff to ensure that they are able to identify fake pet passports used for animals travelling under the PETS.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is responsible for providing the Carrier Manager and Checkers with training of the requirements for the approved carriage of PETS eligible animals.

APHA have produced a guide for authorised Pet Carriers and Checkers, which includes a section on suspected fraud and examples of fraudulent documents.

All APHA staff carrying out this work are trained and receive mentoring from experienced colleagues. When carrying out a check of a cat, dog or ferret (commercial or under the Pet Travel Scheme), APHA staff have access to the Operations Manual instructions and checklists which provide clear guidance which can be followed during the check.

Carriers and Pet Checkers are advised to refer all cases of suspected fraud to APHA using the Report of Non-Compliant Pet Passport or Third Country Certificate form (IV62) along with copies of the relevant documents. Reporting these cases enable APHA to take action against the issuing vet where appropriate.

APHA field team carry out quality assurance checks on carriers and checkers to monitor the on-going standard of performance of the carrier and approved Checker. The level of checking carried out is in line with the frequency and proportion of animals transported.

APHA’s Intelligence Team and Imports Team receive intelligence about fraudulent pet passports and this is communicated to field staff, Pet Carriers and Checkers.