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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effects of puppy trafficking on the welfare of the UK dog population.

A comprehensive risk assessment carried out in 2011prior to the UK's harmonisation with the EU Pet Travel Scheme concluded that the risk of an animal with rabies coming into the UK is very low and the risk of rabies being passed from a pet to a person is lower still. The details of this assessment are available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/a-z/rabies/. This risk assessmentconsidered how the risk of rabies introduction from all countries would change based on (a) where the rules are followed with 100% compliance and (b) where the rules are followed with varying degrees of less than 100% compliance. The risk assessment also incorporated both intra-EU and third country movements and its conclusions are valid for animals moving under both the EU Pet Travel Scheme and commercial movements as the risk mitigation measures are the same for both categories.