Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's consultation on Commercial and Non-Commercial Movements of Pets into Great Britain opened in August 2021, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on smuggling cats and kittens of the proposed (a) protections and (b) exclusions.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and is progressing through Parliament. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements. The number of non-compliant cats seized at the border is much lower than for dogs, for example, in 2020 we seized and detained 17 kittens (under 15 weeks) compared to 543 puppies.
The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.
We will continue to work closely with stakeholders prior to the introduction of the legislation, to ensure that our final measures are well considered and led by the latest evidence.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2022 to Question 119446 on Animal and Plant Health Agency: Border Force, what steps she is taking to help ensure that Border Force continues to work closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency on vehicles suspected of being involved in the Puppy Smuggling industry.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
1) The decision to limit the detention time to 30 minutes from the point of notifying APHA was an agreed position between Border Force and APHA at Dover. The SLA commenced on the 24 January and its effectiveness will be assessed after 3 months.
2) Border Force and Defra meet regularly at the Border Force and Defra Steering Group to discuss ways of working to combat puppy smuggling. Border Force continues to work closely with APHA, referring every case identified at the border for the appropriate action.
3) Border Force and APHA have no plans to publish the local operational agreement between Border Force and the Animal and Plant Health Agency at the Port of Dover.
4) There have been no vehicles requiring referral to APAH since the commencement of the SLA.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2022 to Question 119446, on Animal and Plant Health Agency: Border Force, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Border Force’s decision to limit the consignment time to thirty minutes for vehicles suspected to be involved in the puppy smuggling industry.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
1) The decision to limit the detention time to 30 minutes from the point of notifying APHA was an agreed position between Border Force and APHA at Dover. The SLA commenced on the 24 January and its effectiveness will be assessed after 3 months.
2) Border Force and Defra meet regularly at the Border Force and Defra Steering Group to discuss ways of working to combat puppy smuggling. Border Force continues to work closely with APHA, referring every case identified at the border for the appropriate action.
3) Border Force and APHA have no plans to publish the local operational agreement between Border Force and the Animal and Plant Health Agency at the Port of Dover.
4) There have been no vehicles requiring referral to APAH since the commencement of the SLA.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the provisions in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill in helping to prevent the smuggling of cats and kittens.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and is progressing through Parliament. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements. The number of non-compliant cats seized at the border is much lower than for dogs, for example, in 2020 we seized and detained 17 kittens (under 15 weeks) compared with 543 puppies. We have also not seen the same issues with pregnant cats being imported, with no pregnant cats seized and detained in 2020.
The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.
We will continue to work closely with stakeholders prior to the introduction of the legislation, to ensure that our final measures are well considered and led by the latest evidence.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the prevalence of cat smuggling; and what steps his Department is taking to prevent it.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The number of non-compliant cats seized at the border is much lower than for dogs. For example, in 2020 we seized and detained 17 kittens (under 15 weeks) compared with 543 puppies. We have also not seen the same issues with pregnant cats being imported, with no pregnant cats seized and detained in 2020.
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and is progressing through Parliament. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements.
The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.
We will continue to work closely with stakeholders prior to the introduction of the legislation, to ensure that our final measures are well considered and led by the latest evidence.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of excluding cats and kittens from the proposed new protections to prevent pet smuggling as outlined in the Commercial and Non-Commercial Movements of Pets into Great Britain consultation.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and completed committee on 18 November 2021. The Bill allows us to protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements. Overall, the number of movements of cats into GB is much lower than for dogs.
The consultation sought views on whether this was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.
We will continue to work closely with stakeholders prior to the introduction of the legislation, to ensure that our final measures are well considered and led by the latest evidence.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Border Force guidance is for handling detained vehicles which are suspected to be involved in the illegal puppy smuggling industry.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Border Force has extensive powers to examine and control traffic for a wide variety of purposes, and through its work at the border is able to examine vehicles and freight and ensure detections of illegal imports are referred to the most relevant authority or enforcement agency for action.
If live animals are detected, Border Force is responsible for the detention of the animals and vehicle, and then referring to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) at the appropriate border control post for further enforcement action.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to to ban the import of pets other than those who have been rescued.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and completed committee on 18 November. The Bill allows us to protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, the Government launched an eight-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets, including rescue pets, into Great Britain. This included proposals to ban the commercial and non-commercial movement into Great Britain of puppies under the age of six months, heavily pregnant dogs and dogs which have been subjected to low welfare practices such as ear cropping or tail docking. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary response in due course. This will allow us to take onboard the views of the public and interested groups on puppy smuggling and low welfare imports in order to shape our future policy.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what impact the proposed Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will have on the work of animal rescue charities.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Kept Animals Bill allows us to protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. The Bill also brings in measures establish a licensing regime for the private keeping of primates in England and Wales, to ensure that in the future all primates are kept at high levels of welfare.
In August 2021, the Government launched an eight-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets, including rescue pets, into Great Britain. This included proposals to ban the commercial and non-commercial movement into Great Britain of puppies under the age of six months, heavily pregnant dogs and dogs which have been subjected to low welfare practices such as ear cropping or tail docking. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary response in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups on puppy smuggling and low welfare imports in order to shape our future policy.
During the implementation phase following Royal Assent of the Bill, we will continue to work with the local authority, zoo, and rescue sectors to identify suitable rehoming facilities for primates, and to foster network-building amongst these groups. Our proposals put forward a transitional measure, by means of the Registration scheme, which would ensure rescue centres are not overwhelmed by a sudden surge in primates needing to be rescued.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing exemptions for animal rescue charities to the prohibitions listed in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill on importations of animals which (a) are below a specified age, (b) have been mutilated and (c) are more than a specified number of days pregnant.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June 2021 and completed committee on 18 November 2021. The Bill allows us to protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, the Government launched an eight-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets, including rescue pets, into Great Britain. This included proposals to ban the commercial and non-commercial movement into Great Britain of puppies under the age of six months, heavily pregnant dogs and dogs which have been subjected to low welfare practices such as ear cropping or tail docking. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary response in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups on puppy smuggling and low welfare imports in order to shape our future policy.