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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance and reassurance they have offered to local authorities in interpreting the Standards of Modern Zoo Practice 2027 in regard to farmed reindeers.

The Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain, published in May 2025, apply to all zoos in Great Britain licensed under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 (the 1981 Act). The new Zoo Standards contain requirements that are applicable to all licensed zoo animals, including reindeer, as well as containing requirements for specific species, such as elephants and great apes. Defra has not provided any separate guidance to local authorities on the new Zoo Standards on reindeer licensed under the 1981 Act.