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670129

registered interest
date	09/01/2017
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Dogs: Imports
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to prevent the sale of imported puppies from Eastern Europe which (1) have not been vaccinated, and (2) have been passed off by the sellers as bred in the UK.
tabling member printed	Baroness Byford
uin	HL4461
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2017 answer text <p>All dogs imported from other European Union Member States are required to have a valid rabies vaccination and a pet passport which gives details of both the vaccine and the veterinarian who administered it. Prior to embarkation, dogs are examined by an Official Veterinarian in the country concerned who must certify that the animal is fit to travel. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) also carry out checks on imported dogs and puppies, including those that have been imported for sale. As part of these checks, APHA must ensure that the dogs and puppies have had the appropriate rabies vaccination. Dogs and cats imported from third countries go through a similar process but the health preparation requirements and certification documents may differ according to the disease status in the country concerned.</p><p> </p><p>It is important that those buying a puppy know where it comes from and where it was born. The Government has published guidance for buyers on the GOV.UK website. This includes a recommendation that those buying a puppy should ask to see it with its mother and the rest of the litter. If anyone suspects that a seller of an imported dog or puppy is claiming that it was bred in the United Kingdom then they should contact trading standards in their local authority.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 19/01/2017 16:58:02 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	3343 label Biography information for Baroness Byford

659528

registered interest
date	15/12/2016
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Dogs: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it a requirement for animal health resources to be available at UK borders accurately to age dogs as required.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	57907
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2016 answer text <p>Defra takes the issue of the illegal importation of puppies and abuse of the pet travel scheme seriously. All pet animals entering Great Britain on approved routes under European Union Pet Travel Scheme are subject to documentary and identity checks. These are performed by carrier’s staff or checkers acting on their behalf. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) train and appoint carriers and pet animal checkers. APHA also undertake random audits. Audits carried out in 2015 identified only 1.3% of the animals checked to be non-compliant with pet travel rules. APHA work closely with carriers and pet animal checkers to address any issues identified and provide additional training as required.</p><p> </p><p>We have no current plans to amend the arrangements for checking pet animals at the border. Defra is currently reviewing the operation of the Pet Travel Scheme in England and review includes the pet checking and carrier approval process. As part of the review the Department held a public consultation during the autumn of 2016. We are currently analysing the feedback from the consultation which will be published as part of the overall review in 2017. Since December 2015 APHA Port of Dover staff have been working in partnership with the Dogs Trust to identify, seize and quarantine underage puppies illegally transported into the country.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice grouped question UIN 57906 question first answered 22/12/2016 14:44:02 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

470433

registered interest
date	14/03/2016
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Dogs: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were imported into Northern Ireland for (a) non-commercial reasons under the PETS scheme and (b) commercial reasons in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the countries of origin of those dogs were in each category.
tabling member constituency	South Antrim
tabling member printed	Danny Kinahan
uin	30948
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2016 answer text <p>The movement of dogs into the United Kingdom, whether through the Pet Travel Scheme or for commercial reasons is a devolved matter.</p><p> </p><p>The Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland has suggested that the Honourable Member write to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Northern Ireland Executive.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 22/03/2016 11:45:44 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4381 label Biography information for Danny Kinahan

470435

registered interest
date	14/03/2016
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Dogs: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs brought into the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme have been (a) seized and (b) put through quarantine in each year since 2012.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	30917
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2016 answer text <p>The Pet Travel Scheme covers pet dogs, cats and ferrets. There are separate rules for the commercial importation of these animals; for example for sale or rehoming.</p><p> </p><p>Any dog, cat or ferret identified as being non-compliant with either Pet Travel Scheme or commercial rules to enter the UK will be placed into quarantine. We hold data on illegally landed animals for the three previous years and do not record the species involved or whether the quarantined animals were a pet travel or commercial movement.</p><p> </p><p>The numbers of dogs, cats and ferrets quarantined were 461 in 2013, 498 in 2014 and 609 in 2015.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 21/03/2016 15:37:38 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

459365

registered interest
date	10/03/2016
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Dogs: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been identified as illegally importing puppies under the Pet Travel Scheme during the Dogs Trust's pilot quarantine initiative.
tabling member constituency	Poplar and Limehouse
tabling member printed	Jim Fitzpatrick
uin	30615
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2016 answer text <p>Local Authorities are responsible for the prosecution of individuals illegally importing puppies into Great Britain. In addition Port of Dover Police can issue formal warnings for illegal landing of puppies including where animals have been concealed. It is for the local authority concerned to decide if it wishes to undertaken a prosecution in any of the cases of illegal importation identified during the pilot.</p><p> </p><p>The Dogs Trust pilot quarantine initiative began on 2 December 2015 and is expected to continue until the end of May 2016. As explained in my reply to the honourable Member for North Durham, Kevan Jones, on 11 March 2016, PQ UIN 30363, the Animal and Plant Health Agency will carry out an assessment of the effectiveness of the initiative following its conclusion. This assessment will be made publicly available and will be based on information provided by all parties involved in the pilot. This will include a summary of all enforcement action that has been taken. The report may not, however, be able to comment on investigations that may be underway.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice grouped question UIN 30604 question first answered 16/03/2016 16:31:45 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	197 label Biography information for Jim Fitzpatrick

459367

registered interest
date	10/03/2016
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Dogs: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions have occurred or proceedings been commenced as the result of the seizure of illegally imported puppies taken into the Dogs Trust's care via its pilot quarantine initiative since the start of that pilot.
tabling member constituency	Poplar and Limehouse
tabling member printed	Jim Fitzpatrick
uin	30604
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2016 answer text <p>Local Authorities are responsible for the prosecution of individuals illegally importing puppies into Great Britain. In addition Port of Dover Police can issue formal warnings for illegal landing of puppies including where animals have been concealed. It is for the local authority concerned to decide if it wishes to undertake a prosecution in any of the cases of illegal importation identified during the pilot.</p><p> </p><p>The Dogs Trust pilot quarantine initiative began on 2 December 2015 and is expected to continue until the end of May 2016. As explained in my reply to the honourable Member for North Durham, Kevan Jones, on 11 March 2016, PQ UIN 30363, the Animal and Plant Health Agency will carry out an assessment of the effectiveness of the initiative following its conclusion. This assessment will be made publicly available and will be based on information provided by all parties involved in the pilot. This will include a summary of all enforcement action that has been taken. The report may not, however, be able to comment on investigations that may be underway.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 16/03/2016 16:31:45 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	197 label Biography information for Jim Fitzpatrick

458489

registered interest
date	08/03/2016
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Dogs: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Dogs Trust pilot quarantine on disrupting the illegal importation of puppies under the Pet Travel Scheme.
tabling member constituency	North Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
uin	30363
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2016 answer text <p>I welcome the Dogs Trust initiative to pay the quarantine costs of dogs and puppies identified at Dover as being not compliant to enter Great Britain under the EU Pet Travel Scheme. Since 2 December 2015, 108 puppies have been licensed into the quarantine facilities, mainly due to concerns that puppies were under the minimum age for travelling.</p><p>The Animal and Plant Health Agency will carry out an assessment of the effectiveness of the initiative following its conclusion.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 11/03/2016 11:05:06 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones

446788

registered interest
date	21/01/2016
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Dogs: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs brought into the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme were found to be non-compliant with that scheme's requirements in each year since 2012.
tabling member constituency	South Antrim
tabling member printed	Danny Kinahan
uin	23701
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2016 answer text <p>The requirement to ensure that pet dogs travel to Great Britain on approved routes is the responsibility of the relevant transport companies. It is a condition of their approval that the transport companies check 100% of pets declared by their owners for compliance with the EU Pet Travel Scheme.</p><br /><p>The table below lists the number of audits completed by APHA staff on pet checkers and the number of fails identified during the audits.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>No of Pets travelling to GB under PETS</p></td><td><p>No. of QA checks on Pet animals</p></td><td><p>No. of non-compliances</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p></td><td><p>184,338</p></td><td><p>6070</p></td><td><p>74</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013</strong></p></td><td><p>167,507</p></td><td><p>4894</p></td><td><p>58</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014</strong></p></td><td><p>170,659</p></td><td><p>5978</p></td><td><p>54</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2015</strong></p></td><td><p>267,613</p></td><td><p>4863</p></td><td><p>69</p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The data on the number of pets travelling from 2012/2014 was taken from the PETS database. We rely upon Pet checkers who operate upon behalf of APHA to complete the database and so cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data. A different system of recording the number of pets entering Great Britain in 2015 was implemented in Jan 2015. However, we still rely on pet checkers to provide this info and so cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data.</p><br /><p>Of the pets found not to be in compliance with the entry rules, these pets were either detained until their compliance could be established, re-exported or placed into quarantine.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 29/01/2016 11:23:55 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4381 label Biography information for Danny Kinahan

444654

registered interest
date	13/01/2016
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Dogs: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the number and countries of origin were of dogs imported into the UK for (a) non-commercial reasons under PETS and (b) commercial reasons.
tabling member constituency	Poplar and Limehouse
tabling member printed	Jim Fitzpatrick
uin	22443
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2016 answer text <p>For imports under the Pet Travel Scheme, a record is made of the country that prepared the relevant documentation. This will not always be the country of origin.</p><p>The majority of pets entering Great Britain have UK pet passports, suggesting that they are returning with their owners from a holiday or visit abroad.</p><br /><p>Data is collated by a range of third parties, typically transport companies approved to carry pet animals and it is not possible for the Government to guarantee the accuracy of the statistics.</p><br /><p>I have attached the available information on commercial and non-commercial imports of dogs for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice attachment 1 file name 1460 - 22443 - Commercial Imports 2015.pdf title Commercial Imports 2015 2 file name 1460 - 22443 - Import of Dogs During 2015.pdf title Imports of Dogs during 2015 question first answered 21/01/2016 15:07:55 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	197 label Biography information for Jim Fitzpatrick

418324

registered interest
date	10/09/2015
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Dogs: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of (a) the level of imports of puppies to the UK from other EU countries under the pet travel scheme and (b) the adequacy of controls to avoid the use of that scheme to import puppies for sale.
tabling member constituency	Neath
tabling member printed	Christina Rees
uin	9940
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2015 answer text <p>Defra actively shares intelligence relating to abuse of the EU pet travel scheme. Evidence collected by APHA, Local Authorities and welfare organisations has led to investigations in other EU countries.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The UK maintains effective border controls and all the relevant agencies work together to target people who systematically abuse the rules.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The illegal trade is ultimately driven by demand. Defra have published guidance on buying a pet and have worked closely with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group to drive up standards for online advertisements.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 18/09/2015 12:52:50 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4525 label Biography information for Christina Rees