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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many cats entering the UK non-commercially were under six months of age in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

We operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All non-commercial dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain on approved routes (every route other than ROI and NI) under the Pet Travel rules undergo 100% documentary and identity checks by authorised pet checkers.

There are numerous approved routes into the UK by which pets can travel. These diverse routes are managed by independent pet checkers and by a variety of carriers including ferries, air travel and trains. Pet checkers and carriers independently record the number of how many cats, dogs, ferrets and assistance dogs have travelled and are required to record additional details of the animal where non-compliance is discovered. They may also independently record identifying details for their own records.

The data regarding the Pet Travel Rules is based on information provided by checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals. Raw data on the number of animals travelled via each authorised pet checker or carrier is provided to the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Border Force to enable effective enforcement action. This new system, with carrier captured data, records the number of pet animals entering the country more accurately than the previous legacy database (Pets database) which was initially deployed in 2006, but it is not a requirement to record the age of the animals travelling on those routes. Therefore, we cannot provide this data.