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<p>The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA’s) data retention period for import
data is 3 years. APHA holds data on animals landed in Great Britain that do not meet
the import requirements and therefore require quarantine, under the Rabies (Importation
of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974 (as amended) (RIO).</p><p> </p><p>The
number of puppies quarantined in the last three years can be found in the table below.
The figures for illegal animals also include:</p><p> </p><p>• pet animals that arrive
at UK airports and during the pets check are found to be non-compliant.</p><p>• animals
that are found ‘inland’ and after a trading standards investigation are found to be
non-compliant.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Number
of puppies quarantined</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p>680</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p>486</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td><td><p>178</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>There are many reasons why people do not comply with the legislation concerning
the importation of dogs entering the UK. As a result, Defra and APHA have put in place
mechanisms to understand the cause of non-compliance through collaborative working
with third sector partners, enhanced working with carriers and better sharing of information
by developing intelligence networks.</p><p> </p><p>Due to the complex landscape, it
is not possible to correlate the number of seizures to any one particular initiative.
There have been a number of recent focused efforts from all involved parties including
training carrier operatives on the requirements for compliant travel and changes to
the hours of working of APHA staff at Dover. Intelligence gathered has been used effectively
to alert other EU member states of issues arising, to disrupt illegal trade before
it enters the UK.</p><p> </p><p>It is therefore through a combination of numerous
activities that the number of dogs requiring seizure has dropped.</p>
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