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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of leaving the EU on conservation transfers between zoos in the UK and the EU.

Since leaving the EU, live animal movements between zoos have continued in line with the EU’s importation requirements for Third Countries.

Defra continues to work closely with the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), to address immediate challenges to the cross-border movement of endangered species.

This Government is pursuing an SPS Agreement that will establish a UK-EU Sanitary Zone aimed at reducing trade barriers and includes facilitating the safe and efficient movement of terrestrial and aquatic zoo animals for conservation. The principles and framework of a future agreement have been established and negotiations are ongoing. Our aim is to reduce regulatory barriers while maintaining the UK’s high biosecurity standards. We expect the SPS agreement to reduce costs and delays associated with certification and border checks, easing burdens on UK zoos and aquariums.