Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will introduce a requirement for visual checks to be carried out on all dogs entering via the Pet Travel Scheme.
Answered by Mark Spencer
We already operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All non-commercial dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain on approved routes (every route other than Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies) under the Pet Travel rules undergo 100% documentary and identity checks by authorised pet checkers. We have no plans to introduce further visual checks.
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
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 is taking steps to prevent exploitation of the Pet Travel Scheme by traders seeking to facilitate illegal importation of puppies.
Answered by Mark Spencer
We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will bring in some of the world’s strongest protections for pets, livestock and kept wild animals including measures which tackle puppy smuggling.
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to introduce a ban on the importation and sale of dogs with cropped ears and docked tails.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The practice of non-exempted mutilations such as cropping dogs' ears is abhorrent and has rightly been banned in the UK for 15 years. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is already an offence in England and Wales to carry out a non-exempted mutilation (e.g., where it is not carried out for medical purposes) including the cropping of a dog's ears. Now that The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 has come into force, anyone convicted of such an offence face being sent to prison for up to five years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both.
Now that we have left the EU, we are making some significant changes to domestic law through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, bringing in legislation to meet our manifesto commitment to crack down on puppy smuggling.
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill introduces measures relating to the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce further restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, the Government launched a consultation on how these powers should be used. We are currently analysing the replies to this consultation and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) stakeholders on the potential merits of developing a British market for battery recycling.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
a) I have not had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of developing a British market for battery recycling.
b) Defra will be consulting on improvements to the batteries regulations in 2023. This has and will continue to include routine engagement with stakeholders on all the options for treatment of waste batteries, including recycling.
Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the rising cost of fish; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of relaxing the rules on fishing quarters to help increase supply and tackle the rising cost of fish.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
Food prices are influenced by a range of factors - from currency fluctuations to commodity prices. The UK has a highly resilient and diverse food supply chain which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges – including sourcing a large amount of the fish we consume from countries such as Iceland and Norway. The majority of UK seafood consumption is imported, meaning prices on UK supermarket shelves are largely determined by international supply and demand.
It is not for the UK Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by the companies. Food prices fluctuate in any given year and are dependent on a combination of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, exchange rates, domestic labour and manufacturing costs.
We will continue to speak with industry to understand and support them in coping with any potential pressures. We do not intend to amend fishing quotas because they are an important tool, based on scientific evidence, for managing sustainable fisheries.