Dogs: Smuggling

(asked on 10th March 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2021 to Question 157953, how many people were (a) charged with and (b) convicted of puppy smuggling last year.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 18th March 2021

Defra does not hold data on the number of individuals charged with and convicted of puppy smuggling related offences. Local authorities are the enforcement and prosecution body for puppy smuggling related offences. In 2020, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) was notified of two prosecutions by local authorities under the following legislation: The Welfare of Animals (Transport)(England) Order 2006, The Animal Health Act 1981, The Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974 and The Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011. However, local authorities are not required to notify Defra or APHA of prosecutions related to puppy smuggling and so this figure may not represent the total number of cases. We suspect the low number of prosecutions reported for 2020 was a result of courts being closed and cases delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

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