Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on the potential ban on importing dogs and cats under the age of six months; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of that ban on levels of illegal pet trade.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra regularly engages with relevant stakeholders, on tackling the illegal pet trade, including prohibiting the import of puppies and kittens under the age of six months.
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill will contain powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom including prohibiting the import of puppies under six months old. By its very nature, it is difficult to assess the full extent of the illegal pet trade. The measures in the Bill will close loopholes exploited by unscrupulous traders, help reduce the low welfare movement of pets into Great Britain and crack down on the illegal smuggling of dogs and puppies.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of resources allocated to enforcement agencies responsible for checking pets entering the UK to effectively counter puppy and kitten smuggling.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra regularly engages with enforcement agencies regarding tackling illegal pet smuggling and appropriate resourcing.
Local authorities and the Animal and Plant Health Agency are responsible for enforcing pet travel and commercial import requirements.
Authorised carriers and pet checkers have the delegated responsibility for conducting pet checks on non-commercial movements. They can refuse travel for non-compliant animals or share intelligence with the Animal and Plant Health Agency who can intercept at the port or border if non-compliance is suspected.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing sanctions for cases of puppy smuggling.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In August 2021, the Government launched a consultation on proposed restrictions, including enforcement measures, to the commercial import and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. We are carefully reviewing the feedback gathered from our consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders, and a summary will be published soon.
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill will contain powers that will enable future regulations, including penalties and offences, for non-compliant commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to address dog thefts in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We fully understand the devastating impact the theft of a pet can have, which is why in 2016 we made it compulsory to microchip all pet dogs in England and have extended this legislation to include cats from 10 June 2024.
On 29 March, we published the Government’s response to a consultation on cat and dog microchipping that sets out how we will address a number of recommendations made in the Pet Theft Taskforce report. This includes developing a new single point of search portal to make it easier to search compliant databases for a microchip record and strengthening the process for changing keepership.
We are also already supporting Anna Firth’s Pet Abduction Bill through parliament. This Private Member’s Bill is looking to introduce new offences for dog and cat abduction. Alongside this, police forces are working together to better coordinate and share best practice and advice on the steps owners can take to protect their pets.
This package of measures will help protect dogs and cats across England, including in the Romford constituency.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of provisions in the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill on the work of animal rescue charities.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill completed second reading in the House of Commons on 15 March 2024.
In August 2021 we launched a consultation on the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. It was a wide-ranging consultation with excellent engagement with key stakeholders including animal rescue charities. We are carefully reviewing the feedback from our consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders, and the consultation response will be published soon.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to introduce a complete ban on the commercial movement of pregnant dogs, and (2) to increase the age at which puppies can be imported to six months.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill contains powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom, including prohibiting the import of heavily pregnant dogs over 42 days gestation and puppies under six months old.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a complete ban on the (1) importation, and (2) sale, of dogs which have had (a) their ears cropped, or (b) their tails docked, for cosmetic reasons.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is already an offence in England and Wales to carry out a non-exempted mutilation, including the cropping of a dog’s ears or the docking of their tails. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 creates tougher penalties for anyone convicted of such an offence face, either being sent to prison for up to five years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both.
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill contains powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom including prohibiting the import of dogs with cropped ears and docked tails. This will prevent the import of non-exempted mutilated dogs for onward sale in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of importing pregnant dogs on the welfare of those dogs; and whether he has received representations from animal welfare organisations on this matter.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In August 2021, the Government launched a consultation on proposed restrictions to the commercial import and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain including restricting the import of heavily pregnant dogs. It was a wide-ranging consultation with excellent engagement with key stakeholders including animal welfare organisations. We are carefully reviewing the feedback gathered from our consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders, and a summary will be published soon. We continue to engage with stakeholders on this issue.
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill will contain powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom including prohibiting the import of heavily pregnant dogs over 42 days gestation.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of prohibiting the (a) importation and (b) sale of dogs with (i) cropped ears and (ii) docked tails.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is already an offence in England and Wales to carry out a non-exempted mutilation, including the cropping of a dog’s ears or the docking of their tails. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 creates tougher penalties for anyone convicted of such an offence face, either being sent to prison for up to five years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both.
In August 2021, the Government launched a consultation on proposed restrictions to the commercial import and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain including restricting the import of dogs with cropped ears and docked tails. We are carefully reviewing the feedback gathered from our consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders, and a summary will be published soon.
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill will contain powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom including prohibiting the import of dogs with cropped ears and docked tails.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) increasing the age at which puppies can be imported to six months and (b) reintroducing rabies blood tests for imported puppies.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill will contain powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom including prohibiting the import of puppies under six months old.
There are already strict legal controls on the entry of animals into Great Britain aimed at preventing the introduction of rabies. All dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain must be vaccinated against rabies. We are not currently proposing any changes to the animal health requirements for dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain. The Government monitors disease risk carefully. If the disease risk changes, or an immediate public health risk is identified, appropriate action will be taken.