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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reintroduce the requirement for small animals to be treated for ticks before entering the UK.

Tick surveillance has shown that tick distribution and abundance is changing throughout the UK for many reasons, including habitat and climate change. Small numbers of localised infestations with non-native tick species have been reported in recent years. For these reasons, Defra strongly encourages pet owners to treat their pets to safeguard their animals against ticks and tick-transmitted diseases when travelling abroad.

Defra has no immediate plans to amend the tick controls for dogs, cats or ferrets entering into Great Britain. However, we remain aware of the concerns around ticks and tick-borne disease, and future policy will be guided by risk assessment.

There are no plans to introduce tick treatment to imports of other small animals.