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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the maintenance or improvement of animal welfare standards for pets after the UK leaves the EU.

We have strong animal welfare standards for pets in this country, and have taken recent steps to enhance those protections including banning the third party sale of puppies and kittens, updating the companion animal welfare codes and introducing legislation to increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty to 5 years imprisonment. These standards will be maintained when we leave the EU and we will look to strengthen standards further where supported by scientific and veterinary evidence.