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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on the illegal dog trade.

The Government takes the illegal movement of dogs seriously and it is committed to working with the Devolved Administrations, delivery bodies, enforcement agencies and non-government organisations to tackle this issue.

Whilst there have been no recent Ministerial meetings on the illegal movement of dogs, Defra’s Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) has recently discussed the issue with his Devolved Administration counterparts, including the Northern Ireland CVO.

Additionally, there have been discussions on this issue between other Defra officials and officials within the Northern Ireland Devolved Administration.