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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions have occurred or proceedings commenced as the result of seizure of illegally imported puppies taken into Dogs Trust's care via its puppy pilot quarantine scheme since the start of that initiative.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is working with the Dogs Trust and Kent County Council to identify and seize dogs and puppies which were not compliant with the requirements of the Pet Travel Scheme as part of a pilot project responding to intelligence on potential non-compliance. However any prosecutions or proceedings commenced as a result of the puppy pilot would be undertaken by the Local Authorities.

Local Authorities are required to submit a return to Parliament each year (under Section 80 of the Animal Health Act). The reports do contain high level details of all prosecutions, and the report for 2016 shows that 5 prosecutions were taken in relation to the illegal import of dogs. However we do not hold information on whether these successful prosecutions were as a result of the Puppy Pilot.