Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
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 it his policy to ban the import of dogs with cropped ears.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ear cropping has rightly been banned in the UK for over 15 years. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence in England and Wales to carry out a non-exempted mutilation e.g., where a surgical procedure is not carried out for medical purposes, such as the cropping of a dog’s ears. While the practice is illegal in the UK, we recognise that the current legislative framework can be abused by traders who import these dogs from abroad.
As outlined in our manifesto, the Government is committed to ending puppy smuggling. We will clamp down on unscrupulous traders who prioritise profit over welfare. We are considering the most effective ways to deliver this and will be setting out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
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 is taking to help ensure the welfare of reindeer used at seasonal events in winter 2024-25.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act), owners and keepers of animals, including reindeer, must take reasonable steps to provide for the health and welfare of animals under their care.
Under schedule 7 of the Licensing of Activities Involving Animals (LAIA) Regulations, local authorities are responsible for licensing the use of animals for certain commercial purposes, including the keeping or training of animals for exhibition.
Under the conditions of this schedule, keepers must make provision for the welfare of the animals being exhibited, including providing suitable temporary accommodation for the reindeer, ensuring they are handled by appropriately trained persons, and using suitable handling methods.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to launch a consultation on which activities should be banned from being (a) advertised and (b) offered for sale under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of a future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad. Future decisions on the next steps will be evidence-based and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.
The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. We are considering the most effective ways to deliver these commitments and will be setting out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will implement the recommendations of the Animal Welfare Committee on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Animal Welfare Committee has updated its 2014 Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing and we are studying the recommendations carefully to determine next steps.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of air quality monitoring in Lancaster.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Environment Agency manages the UK national air quality monitoring networks on behalf of Defra and the Government. Further information about air quality monitoring can be found here.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) testing for levels of (i) tranquillisers, antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs in drinking water and (ii) psychotropic drugs in UK rivers and seawater; and (b) the potential impact of those levels on (i) persons consuming that water and (ii) the wider environment.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Drinking Water Inspectorate commissioned research into pharmaceuticals in drinking water in 2007 (Desk based review of current knowledge on pharmaceuticals in drinking water and estimation of potential levels), which was followed up by a small-scale survey in 2011. Benzoylecogonine, carbamazepine (CBZ), arbamazepine-10,11-epoxide (carbamazepine epoxide; CBZ-EP), ibuprofen and naproxen were detected in drinking water. The Inspectorate commissioned further research in 2014 (Toxicological evaluation of pharmaceuticals in drinking water) which carried out a risk assessment of the pharmaceuticals measured in the previous study. Both concluded that the levels detected in drinking water are not anticipated to pose an appreciable risk to public health.
The Environment Agency does not assess impact of substances grouped by their intended use but considers either the risk of individual substances to the environment or groups of substances with similar environmental impacts, for example endocrine disrupting properties. Data can be found at: Defra Data Services Platform(opens in a new tab).
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she made of the adequacy of the Animal Plant and Health Agency’s veterinary resources within Lancashire; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Spencer
For a current overview of the Animal Plant and Health Agency’s (APHA) veterinary resource, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 June 2023 to the hon. Member for Witney, PQ 189875.
APHA has a team of seven field veterinary posts which provide veterinary resource for Lancashire and West Yorkshire. Recruitment is in progress to fill one vacancy in this team. APHA adopts flexible resourcing at a national level to meet delivery needs and works with veterinary delivery partners when needed to meet fluctuating demands. APHA also offers a free farm animal carcase collection service to most of Lancashire to enable diagnostic post-mortem examinations to be carried out by veterinary pathologists at the APHA laboratory in Penrith or at the University of Liverpool.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the quality of bathing water in Fleetwood.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Environment Agency samples bathing waters, including Fleetwood, 20 times between May and September. Samples are tested for elevated levels of bacteria (E. Coli) which would indicate a presence of organic pollution such as sewage.
Fleetwood wastewater treatment works (WwTW) serves towns on the Fylde Coast, Lancashire, including Fleetwood. On 11 June 2023 there was a failure of a discharge pipe at Fleetwood WwTW that is now restricting the outlet from the WwTW. As a result, sewage is backing up at the WwTW and in the sewerage network.
In response to the reduction in capacity at the WwTW, and some rainfall, untreated sewage overflowed at various points on the network overnight on 12 and 13 June. This included screened sewage onto the beach at Blackpool. There are eight designated bathing waters that could be impacted in the area, including Fleetwood.
The Environment Agency is the regulator of Fleetwood WwTW and is gathering evidence for any potential compliance or enforcement purposes. The Environment Agency continues to maintain an operational presence in the area and is actively involved in multi-agency liaison and response through the Lancashire Resilience Forum.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with United Utilities on preventing sewage discharge at Fleetwood Wastewater Treatment works.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Secretary of State and I frequently meet representatives from water companies and the wider water industry to discuss environmental performance. United Utilities are undertaking an urgent repair to a burst pipe at the Fleetwood Wastewater Treatment site. They are working with local teams, including the Environment Agency and local councils to minimise impacts. Defra is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates on progress.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the impact of (a) online competition, (b) rising costs and (c) licensing requirements on pet shops.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Under the Licensing of Activities Involving Animals Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations), anyone who is in the business of selling animals as pets needs a valid licence from their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences. Online sellers and traditional pet shops are accordingly held to a fair regulatory standard.
The Government has been providing energy cost support to businesses, including pet shops; first through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and now through the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS). The EBDS will run until 31 March 2024 for eligible non-domestic consumers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
My Department is currently conducting a post implementation review of the 2018 Regulations. Among other things, this will assess whether there could be scope for improvements to the regulation of the sale of pets.