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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to consult on changes to the non-commercial importation of live animals.

There are no policy changes to the imports of non-commercial live animals. Importers from EU member States and EFTA countries currently benefit from a transitional period. At the end of the transitional period, we will be operating a global model for goods from the European Union and the rest of the world based on risk.

The Draft Target Operating Model (TOM) published by the Government on 5^th of April does not apply to non-commercial movements of pet animals defined by Regulation 576/2013. Later in 2024, we will expect these pet animals to be checked at designated points of entry while commercial movements of animals will be subject to veterinary checks at Border Control Posts.