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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in Ireland on the enforcement of the Balai Directive for racing greyhounds travelling to the UK; and how many racing greyhounds were recorded as having been moved from Ireland to the UK in each of the last three years.

The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with her counterpart in Ireland regarding enforcement of the Balai Directive for racing greyhounds travelling to the UK.

There is no information on the number of racing greyhounds moved from Ireland to the UK. The European Commission’s system for recording animal movements between EU Member States does not require information to be recorded on the breed of dog being moved.