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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to prevent heavily pregnant bitches from being transported to the UK illegally for the purpose of selling puppies to UK customers; and whether they will ban payments in cash for puppies bought in the UK.

The end of the transition period has opened up new opportunities for managing our own pet travel and commercial importation rules. We are actively listening to the concerns of stakeholders and the Government is considering options to strengthen our efforts to tackle puppy smuggling and prevent the low-welfare importation and movement of these animals, including looking at the movement of heavily pregnant dogs (bitches) entering Great Britain (GB).

These options will take into consideration the results from our latest disease risk assessments for GB, recommendations of stakeholders such as the British Veterinary Association and Dogs Trust, and recent Parliamentary work from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.