Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2017 to Question 64007, whether his Department is able to identify domestic cat and dog fur from non-domestic cat and dog fur that enters or is sold in the UK; and whether he plans to introduce regulatory proposals to include non-domestic cat and dog fur currently not covered by Council Regulation (EC) No 1523/2007 after the UK leaves the EU.

I refer the hon Member for St Albans to the answer given by my Rt. Hon Friend the Minister of State for International Trade (Greg Hands) on 27 February 2017, UIN: 64023. Answer included below:

The import, export and placing on the market of cat and dog fur, and products made from such fur is prohibited under EU legislation (Council Regulation (EC) No 1523/2007). As part of our exit from the EU and through the Great Repeal Bill, these controls will be carried over into UK law.

Border Force will act to enforce the legislation if illegal cat and dog fur products are detected during the course of carrying out other customs import and export checks, or following receipt of specific intelligence. In these cases, samples are taken and forensically examined. Consignments are seized where they are confirmed to contain cat or dog fur.