Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 14th May 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

The hon. Gentleman talks eloquently about the plight of puppies being transported into the United Kingdom. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on cats, and the proud owner of two cats, Clement Catlee and Mo Meowlam, I can also attest to the positive benefits that they bring to mental health.

On the transport of cats into the UK, does the hon. Gentleman agree that there has been a significant rise in the number of purebred and pedigree cats over the last five years? Last year, for the first time, the percentage of pedigree and purebred cats obtained, at 45%, overtook the number of moggies, which is currently at 43%. Does the hon. Gentleman also agree that stress in cats is often very serious, and that travel is particularly stressful for them?

[The Chair]

I realise that we had to get the cat names in, but may I ask for interventions to be brief? The hon. Lady is of course welcome to try to catch my eye if she wants to make a longer contribution.

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[Dr Chambers]

He is not—my condolences to the hon. Lady’s brother on the loss of Oscar, his much-loved ferret.

Crucially, subsections (3) and (4) state that the first regulations made under the regulation-making power in subsection (1) in relation to England, Scotland and Wales must include prohibitions on the three specific types of low-welfare imports. Governments in Great Britain must first use the power to raise the minimum age at which a dog or cat can be brought into Great Britain to six months, to prohibit the bringing into Great Britain of dogs and cats that are heavily pregnant and to ban the bringing into Great Britain of dogs and cats with non-exempted mutilations, such as cropped ears.

[Johanna Baxter]

Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that under subsection (4)(c), the reference to cats that have been mutilated includes cats that have been declawed?

[Dr Chambers]

Yes, I can confirm that. The declawing of cats is specifically included, but it covers any mutilation that is for cosmetic purposes only and not for the welfare of the animal.

The restrictions will be subject to appropriate exemptions, which I will touch on shortly. Despite the current rules specifying that a dog or cat cannot be brought into Great Britain under 15 weeks old, we still see puppies arriving that are eight weeks old or sometimes even younger. Separating a puppy from its mother too young has implications for the puppy’s health and welfare. Evidence from stakeholders also suggests that puppies imported into Great Britain have frequently been subjected to unacceptable breeding practices abroad and transported in poor conditions.

Raising the minimum age at which a puppy or kitten can be brought into Great Britain to six months old will disrupt the low-welfare movement of under-age puppies into Great Britain. At six months old, both puppies and kittens can be aged more accurately, which will make it easier to enforce the new minimum age and to identify under-age dogs and cats. We hope that the measure will result in significantly fewer low-welfare breeding operations supplying the Great Britain market.

Currently, welfare and transport regulations prevent an animal from being transported during the final 10% of its gestation. That limit is insufficient to tackle the emerging practice of importing heavily pregnant dogs, and it is very difficult to identify the stage of pregnancy accurately.

Oral Answers to Questions

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Thursday 8th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor General]

The hon. Member raises an important issue. We know that rural and farming communities face acute and bespoke threats from criminals, including highly organised crime groups that are exploiting our rural communities. He has referred to livestock theft, but those communities also face fly-tipping and machinery and fuel theft. We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, and are also committed to further funding for the national rural and wildlife crime units. We have announced additional funding for those units, because we recognise just how critical it is to crack down on rural crime. I should also mention policing, because our neighbourhood policing guarantee covers the entirety of this country—not just urban areas, but rural areas too.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

4. What steps her Department is taking to support the Serious Fraud Office in tackling economic crime.

[Lloyd Hatton (South Dorset) (Lab)]

9. What steps her Department is taking to support the Serious Fraud Office in tackling economic crime.

[The Solicitor General]

This Government are determined to crack down on the scourge of economic crime, and the Serious Fraud Office does crucial work to tackle complex fraud, bribery and corruption. Under its new director, the SFO has opened nine new overt investigations and charged 16 defendants. Just last week, I saw the SFO’s crucial work at first hand when I observed a dawn raid carried out in relation to a new multimillion-pound bribery investigation.

[Johanna Baxter]

The vast majority of UK businesses play by the rules, but fraud is estimated to cost UK taxpayers—including my constituents—between £55 billion and £80 billion per year. What is the Serious Fraud Office doing to encourage businesses to self-report wrongdoing?

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; the vast majority of businesses do play by the rules, and fraud is so damaging precisely because it undermines everyone who plays fairly. That is why this Government are so determined to tackle it. I welcome the SFO’s recently revised guidance, which aims to drive up the number of corporates that self-report wrongdoing. That is a positive development that will foster good corporate citizenship, and it is an important contributor to this Government’s economic growth mission.

Oral Answers to Questions

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

The problem facing farming is that it became unprofitable because of the actions of the previous Government, who undercut farm businesses in trade deals, undercut farmers on welfare and environmental standards and raised barriers to exports to the European markets, causing exports to plunge by 20% since 2018, which led to record numbers of bankruptcies. This Government have a plan for change that involves turning farming into a profitable set of businesses, including by backing British businesses through public sector food procurement and ruling out trade deals that undercut farmers in the way the previous Government were happy to do.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

T3. I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on cats. The Animal Welfare Committee’s report in September highlighted an urgent need for further regulation around the breeding of cats, after it uncovered the deeply concerning trend in demand for cats and other animals that are bred with extreme characteristics. Will the Minister set out how many of the report’s recommendations the Government have taken up, and what their timeframes are for implementation?

[The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Daniel Zeichner)]

I am sure that my hon. Friend’s cats, who I am told are called Clem Cattlee and Mo Meowlam, will be delighted to hear that the Government are looking very closely at the Animal Welfare Committee’s opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. I can assure them that we are carefully considering the committee’s recommendations.