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 Dogs Trust’s recommendations in their report: Puppy Smuggling: When will this cruel trade end?, what plans his Department has to create a centrally accessible database logging pet’s microchip numbers and date of entry into the UK.

I have zero tolerance of the abhorrent crime that is puppy smuggling, where unscrupulous dealers are abusing the EU Pet Travel Scheme to illegally traffic puppies into the United Kingdom, with no regard for the welfare of these animals or the biosecurity of the UK. Defra are pursuing a holistic approach to tackling puppy smuggling, which includes working closely with Dogs Trust to tackle the issue. Defra Ministers met senior staff from the charity in November, to discuss the findings of their latest report.

It is already a requirement for every dog in the UK to be identified by a microchip and its details to be recorded on a recognised database. This includes dogs imported from outside the UK. Furthermore, all pets entering the UK have their microchip scanned and recorded by the carrier at the time of travel. We do not consider it necessary at this time to introduce an additional database along the lines proposed.