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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help prevent the sale of illegal dog breeds on (a) Freeads, (b) Gumtree and (c) other advertisement websites.

It is a criminal offence to sell, gift, exchange, advertise or offer for sale any prohibited dog breeds. The maximum penalty for doing so is up to six months in prison and or an unlimited fine.

The Government has strongly encouraged all online selling sites to run automated checks for words and terms relating to these prohibited breed types, reporting this to enforcement authorities where relevant.