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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of potential risks to animal health and welfare associated with laypeople performing breeding procedures in canine fertility clinics.

The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 restricts anyone except vets and vet nurses from performing canine artificial breeding procedures. There are no immediate plans to amend this. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 requires owners or handlers of animals to protect them from harm and to provide for their welfare in line with good practice. A breach of these provisions may lead to imprisonment, a fine, or both.

The 2006 Act is backed up by the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs which provides owners and keepers with general welfare information, including a specific section on how to protect them from pain, suffering, injury and disease. That section of the Code of Practice recommends owners seek veterinary advice before breeding their dogs and that owners should take all reasonable steps to ensure that they are able to provide the care required during pregnancy.