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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to prevent the sale of exotic animals as pets in the United Kingdom.

Existing legislation including the Pet Animals Act 1951, which regulates animals sold as pets, and the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which makes it an offence to fail to protect the welfare of animals, provide a number of important safeguards for exotic animals sold as pets. Defra is currently reviewing legislation on licensing animal activities, including the 1951 Act, and will shortly be consulting publicly on a set of proposals to make the licensing system more effective.