The breeding and selling of dogs (other than for scientific purposes) is regulated in England under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 and the 2006 Animal Welfare Act. Since 2019 anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a twelve-month period needs to have a valid licence from their local authority. Local authorities provide management and enforcement of this licensing regime and of the Animal Welfare Act. Any breeder failing to meet these standards may have additional licensing restrictions applied, have their licence revoked, or in extreme cases be prosecuted and potentially subject to the increased five -year custodial penalty the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act brought into force on the 29 June 2021.<\/p>
The breeding of dogs to be used for scientific purposes is separately regulated under The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). The Government has published a code of practice for the care and accommodation of animals (including dogs) used for scientific purposes. The appropriate regulators operationalise and enforce ASPA through licensing and compliance assurance activities. A range of remedies are used if licence holders are found to be non-compliant, including suspension or revocation of licences.<\/p>
This government believes, in line with the current scientific position, that there is a need to continue to use animals in some areas of research where there are no non- animal alternatives, to advance scientific discovery and protect human and animal health and the environment. There is a robust regulatory regime to protect these animals and we continue to invest in the development and uptake of non-animal alternatives. Therefore, this government have no current plans to hold a review into the use of animals in science<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3969", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Damian Hinds"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Hampshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Damian Hinds"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-01-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-01-20T16:53:20.873Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-01-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Dogs: Animal Welfare"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department made of animal welfare within the operation of large-scale dog farming factories in the UK; and what steps his Department is taking to stop the testing of animals for scientific research.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4667", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mike Amesbury"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Weaver Vale"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mike Amesbury"} ], "uin" : "102757"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1359690", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1359690/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government takes the issue of dog attacks extremely seriously and is determined to crack down on irresponsible dog ownership.<\/p>
<\/p>
Under section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, it is an offence to allow a dog to be dangerously out of control in any place. Section 2 of the Dogs Act 1871 also allows for a complaint to be made to a magistrates' court by any individual or authority that a dog is "dangerous and not kept under proper control". Additionally, the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 includes specific measures to enable the police and local authorities to tackle irresponsible dog ownership before a dog attack occurs. The main tool to tackle irresponsible dog ownership is the Community Protection Notice (CPN). These notices can be issued by local authority officers or the police on dog owners, or anyone temporarily in charge of the dog at the time, whose dogs are behaving in an unruly way. To breach a CPN is a criminal offence and could lead to a significant penalty. To that end we are encouraging police forces across the country to use these tools.<\/p>
<\/p>
Defra has also commissioned research in collaboration with Middlesex University into ways to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible ownership amongst dog owners. The research considers different approaches and the effectiveness of current dog control measures. The report, which will be published shortly, identifies the police Local Environmental Awareness on Dogs (LEAD) initiative as a model of preventative best practice for low level dog control issues and early intervention. The Government supports these local preventative approaches to encourage responsible ownership of all breeds of dog. Defra is giving careful consideration to the report and its recommendations, which will provide the basis for potential further reform in this area.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4401", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Victoria Prentis"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Banbury"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Victoria Prentis"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-10-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "57417"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-10-25T10:25:18.987Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-10-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Dogs: Animal Welfare"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote responsible dog ownership.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4790", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Apsana Begum"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Poplar and Limehouse"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Apsana Begum"} ], "uin" : "57416"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1359722", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1359722/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Defra commissioned Middlesex University to examine measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible ownership. The research considers different approaches and the effectiveness of current dog control measures. The report will be published shortly and will provide the basis for the consideration of further reform in this area.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4380", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jo Churchill"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bury St Edmunds"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jo Churchill"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-10-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-10-21T15:32:12.493Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-10-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Dogs: Animal Welfare"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the research on responsible dog ownership commissioned by his Department from Middlesex University.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4772", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kenny MacAskill"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Lothian"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Kenny MacAskill"} ], "uin" : "57370"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1344828", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1344828/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
This Government is committed to eradicating the illegal cropping of dogs ears, not just addressing the practice\u2019s promotion on social media. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is already an offence in England and Wales to carry out a non-exempted mutilation e.g. where it is not carried out for medical purposes, including the cropping of a dog\u2019s ears. Now that The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 has come into force, anyone convicted of such an offence faces being sent to prison for up to 5 years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Government published its Action Plan for Animal Welfare on 12th May, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/action-plan-for-animal-welfare/action-plan-for-animal-welfare<\/a>. This is a wide-reaching and ambitious plan to set out our current and future work on animal welfare. The Government has a manifesto commitment to crack down on puppy smuggling and one of our key reforms in the plan is to end this abhorrent, cruel practice and low-welfare pet imports. As part of the Action Plan, we are now making some significant changes to domestic law through the recently introduced Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. This Bill was introduced in Parliament on the 8 June and will progress through Parliament when parliamentary time allows. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. These power will allow us to go further and prioritise the welfare of dogs by prohibiting the importation and non-commercial movement of dogs into GB that have been subject to low welfare practices, such as ear cropping or tail docking, in line with our domestic legislation on these practices.<\/p> <\/p> Meanwhile my Department maintains a national communications campaign (Petfished) to raise awareness of issues associated with low-welfare and illegal supply of pets. This includes providing clear signposting on where responsible breeders and rehoming centres can be found and encouraging prospective buyers to research the seller thoroughly before they visit and decide to purchase. The campaign provides a list of red flags for buyers to look out for when searching for a pet online. More information can be found here: https://getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk/<\/a>. We have also endorsed The Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) which was created to combat growing concerns about the irresponsible advertising of pets for sale, rehoming and exchange and backed a set of Minimum Standards that PAAG developed which several of the UK\u2019s largest classified websites have agreed to meet.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4401", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Victoria Prentis"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Banbury"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Victoria Prentis"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-07-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-07-16T13:39:53.253Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2021-07-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Dogs: Animal Welfare"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps steps he is taking to tackle the promotion of cropping dogs ears on social media.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4510", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Helen Hayes"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Dulwich and West Norwood"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Helen Hayes"}
], "uin" : "29107"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1343556", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1343556/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " This Government takes the issue of low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies very seriously. Significant steps have already been taken to improve and update the laws on dog breeding in England to crack down on unscrupulous breeders who breed dogs purely for financial greed at the expense of animal welfare.<\/p> <\/p> Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a twelve-month period needs to have a valid licence from their local authority. Licences must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards, including provisions to protect dogs from being bred from too often or at an early age, which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences. Any licensee advertising dogs for sale will need to include their licence number in the advert and specify the local authority who issued the licence. Additional requirements placed on advertisements include that the age of the dog for sale must be displayed along with a recognisable photograph.<\/p> <\/p> We banned the commercial third-party sales of puppies and kittens in England from 6 April 2020. This ban aims to disrupt the low-welfare trade that supports puppy farming by preventing pet shops, pet dealers and other commercial outlets from selling these animals in England unless they themselves have bred them. It means anyone looking to get a puppy must buy direct from a breeder or consider adopting from a rescue centre instead.<\/p> <\/p> The 2018 Regulations require Local Authorities to maintain a record of the number of licences in force for each activity in their respective area. Furthermore, as Local Authorities are responsible for enforcing animal related activities which are licensed, such as pet selling or dog breeding, they will hold details on the level of enforcement activity being undertaken in their area.<\/p> <\/p>