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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions officials in her Department has had with (a) other Government Departments and (ii) third-party stakeholders on policy formation on tackling pet theft.

In response to concerns about the apparent increase in pet theft since the start of the pandemic the Government set up the Pet Theft Taskforce in May 2021. The Taskforce was a cross-government initiative including Defra, the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office. The Taskforce published their findings in September 2021 with input from animal welfare groups and experts in relevant fields. We are in the process of taking forward the Task Force’s recommendations together with relevant Departments.