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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral statement by the Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries on 25 May 2023, Official Report, column 494, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the import of (a) dogs with cropped ears and (b) other mutilated dogs.

We plan to take forward measures in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, including those relating to puppy smuggling, individually through other means during the remainder of this Parliament. That is why we would be supportive of legislating to ban the import of dogs with mutilations, such as cropped ears and docked tails, as a single-issue Bill when Parliamentary time allows.

In August 2021, we consulted on proposed changes to the commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into Great Britain.

We are carefully reviewing the feedback from our consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders, and a summary will be published in due course.