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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidences of dog smuggling there have been in each of the last 10 years; and from which countries those dogs were smuggled.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA’s) data retention period for import data is 3 years. APHA does not hold data relating specifically to ‘smuggled’ animals, however, it does hold data on animals that are ‘illegally landed’. This includes any dog, cat or ferret that is landed in Great Britain which does not meet the import requirements, and therefore requires quarantine, under the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974 (as amended) (RIO). While these figures may include some smuggled animals, they also include:

• pet animals that arrive at UK airports and during the pets check are found to be non-compliant

• animals that are found ‘inland’ and after a trading standards investigation are found to be non-compliant

The attached table shows the number of dogs (including puppies) quarantined, by country of origin, after being illegally landed in Great Britain for the last 3 years.