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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing a national register of breeders to improve safeguards against animal abuse.

In relation to dogs, under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations), commercial and high-volume dog breeders must hold a licence issued by their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse, vary or revoke licences.

The department has completed a review of the Regulations which can be found here. The department is considering the review’s findings and will outline any next steps in due course.