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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of granting permissions for shelters to allow the public to adopt stray dogs as a means to reduce the number being euthanised.

The Environmental Protection Act 1990, sets out a minimum hold period of seven days for stray dogs that are brought into shelters. After this time if the owner has not been identified, the dog may be rehomed or humanely euthanised. Under the Act, local authorities have powers in certain circumstances to transfer stray dogs to rehoming centres.