Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Pet Travel Scheme in preventing the illegal smuggling of puppies into the UK.

The purpose of the Pet Travel Scheme (PTS) is to facilitate the travel into the EU and between Member States of owners with their pets, whilst protecting the country from risks to animal and public health.

Some commercial operators have abused the PTS to traffic underage puppies into Great Britain, using falsified pet passports to conceal the animals’ true ages.

The UK carries out more checks of pets at the border than most other EU Member States and penalties are in place where people are found to be breaking the rules.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is working in partnership with Dogs Trust, enforcement bodies and transport carriers to identify non-compliant animals destined for Dover and Folkestone ports. This partnership began in December 2015 resulting in 649 puppies being seized and placed into quarantine.

Puppy buyers are sometimes misled into purchasing an illegally imported puppy they believe to be domestically bred. Defra has published guidance for owners on buying a pet. This contains guidelines such as buying from a reputable supplier and viewing the animal and its documentation, and also highlights the trade in illegal imports. Defra also works closely with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group to drive up standards for online advertisements and make potential pet owners and website operators more aware of rogue dealers.