Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 tackle the designer breeding of (a) brachycephalic cats, (b) bully cats, (c) hybrid cats and (d) other cats.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra commissioned the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) to examine the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. The report can be found here. The Government is carefully considering its recommendations.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 support responsible dog ownership.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to encourage responsible dog ownership, to ensure dog control issues are addressed before they escalate and to make sure the full force of the law is applied. As part of this work, we have reconvened the Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce to explore measures to promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. The taskforce is considering four themes: education, training for both dogs and their owners, enforcement, and improving data on dog attacks. We look forward to receiving the findings and recommendations from the taskforce in due course.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 improve the welfare of farm animals transported within the UK.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All farm animals transported in the UK are protected by comprehensive legal requirements aimed at protecting their welfare. These include the provision of sufficient space, feed and water, ensuring that vehicles used are fit for purpose and secure and that all drivers/attendants are appropriately trained to maintain the welfare of animals in their care. Animals must be fit for transport, and all transporters are required to ensure that, when transporting animals, they do so in a way that avoids causing pain, suffering or distress. The legislation is supplemented by guidance on GOV.UK, including specific advice on transporting animals in extreme weather.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will confirm whether it plans to maintain the Smaller Abattoir Fund.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the vital role smaller abattoirs play in supporting local livestock producers and maintaining a resilient and competitive food supply chain.
The Government will continue to work to simplify and rationalise our grant funding from 2026 onwards following the Spending Review and subsequent business planning to ensure our grants are targeted towards those who need them most and where they can deliver the most benefit for food security and nature.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to conduct a consultation on the potential impacts of the Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 coming into force.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Newport West and Islwyn, Ruth Jones, on 10 July, PQ UIN 65379.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the capacity of local authorities to enforce regulations on zoo licensing.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government published new Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain on 24 May 2025, which will come into force from May 2027.
One of the objectives of updating the Standards has been to make requirements clearer to aid local authority enforcement of the zoo licensing system. The Department will continue to work with the UK Zoos Expert Committee (ZEC), the Animal and Plant Health Agency and local authorities to ensure the Standards are effectively implemented.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of primates being kept as pets in the UK.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department does not collect or hold data on the number of primates being kept in the UK.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether zoo animals being transferred between the UK and EU countries will be covered by the new sanitary and phytosanitary agreement.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our priority is to secure a long-term UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement aimed at reducing trade barriers to enable the safe and efficient movement of goods, including zoo animals. As announced at the UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on 19 May 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area. With the principles and framework of a deal agreed, we will now negotiate the detail of an agreement that reduces administrative burden by streamlining SPS checks and certification, while upholding the UK’s commitment to ensure its biosecurity is protected within this future framework.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to produce updated public guidance on the ban on primates from April 2026.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Accompanying guidance to the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2024 was published on 10 July 2025.
The guidance can be found at:
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 improve the monitoring of marine mammal strandings.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government funds the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), operating since 1990, it annually reports upon threats facing marine mammals through carrying out post-mortems on stranded animals: CSIP.