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1587147

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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	Pets: Animal Welfare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of promoting charitable help and information to reduce pet abandonment in the context of the cost-of-living crisis.
tabling member constituency	Ealing Central and Acton
tabling member printed	Dr Rupa Huq
uin	148656
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2023 answer text <p>The Government is concerned about the impact of the rise in the cost of living on all aspects of people’s lives, including the rise of costs associated with maintaining the welfare of companion animals.</p><p> </p><p>Defra officials regularly meet stakeholders to understand the issues and trends affecting the sector, including the impact of the rise in the cost of living on those who care for companion animals and any changes in pet abandonment rates.</p><p> </p><p>Sector groups are closely monitoring the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and identifying where more support may be needed. We welcome the support they are currently providing through pet food banks and financial support with veterinary treatment which is helping to reduce the pressure on pet owners.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 24/02/2023 17:20:30 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4511 label Biography information for Dr Rupa Huq

1540621

registered interest
date	08/11/2022
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	Pets: Animal Welfare
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 steps her Department is taking to protect companion animal welfare while in transport; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	82231
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2022 answer text <p>HM Government is committed to improving the welfare standards of all animal journeys. We published our wide-reaching Action Plan for Animal Welfare in May 2021, setting out our current and future work to build on our already high standards of animal welfare.</p><p> </p><p>When companion animals are transported for a commercial purpose, their transportation must comply fully with legal requirements aimed at protecting their welfare, including the provision of sufficient space, feed and water. All transporters who wish to operate in Great Britain, including importing animals into or transiting through Great Britain, must hold a GB issued transporter authorisation. The Animal and Plant Health Agency acts as national regulator for the welfare of animals in transport rules and is able to take regulatory action following any non-compliance. Over the last year, one transporter authorisation relating to a cat or dog transporter has been revoked and two have been suspended.</p><p> </p><p>The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will allow 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, HM Government launched a consultation on how these powers should be used. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a response in due course.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 21/11/2022 19:16:59 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1540622

registered interest
date	08/11/2022
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	Pets: Animal Welfare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is planning legislative changes of health requirements for the (a) commercial and (b) non-commercial movement of companion animals into Great Britain; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	82232
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2022 answer text <p>We take biosecurity seriously and operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All pets entering Great Britain must be vaccinated against rabies, with a minimum 21 day wait period, and all dogs entering Great Britain must be treated for tapeworm no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours (5 days) before entry unless coming from tapeworm free countries. All non-commercial dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain on approved routes under the Pet Travel rules and all commercial imports of pets undergo 100% documentary checks, and this includes checking animal health records to ensure compliance with these requirements.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, within 48 hours prior to the time of departure all commercial movements of dogs, cats and ferrets must undergo a clinical examination carried out by an official veterinarian, who must verify that the animals show no signs of diseases.</p><p> </p><p>We remain aware of the concerns around non-endemic diseases and continue to monitor the disease situation carefully. Our future policy will be guided by risk assessment.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 21/11/2022 19:43:37 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1537394

registered interest
date	31/10/2022
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	Pets: Animal Welfare
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 steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of pets abandoned by families as a result of the rising cost of living.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	74507
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/11/2022 answer text <p>HM Government is concerned about the impact of rising bills on all aspects of people's lives and businesses, including the costs associated with companion animal welfare. Defra remains in close contact with animal welfare organisations and meets them regularly to understand issues that are affecting the sector, including any increase of abandonment rates.</p><p>Sector groups are closely monitoring the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and identifying where more support may be needed. We welcome the support they are providing through pet food banks and financial support with veterinary treatment during these difficult times which is helping to reduce the pressure on pet owners.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 07/11/2022 12:42:52 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1537607

registered interest
date	31/10/2022
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	Pets: Animal Welfare
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 recent steps she has taken to progress legislative proposals to promote the welfare of kept animals; and what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of making legislative provision to require visual checks on imported pets.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	74896
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2022 answer text <p>HM Government published its wide-reaching and ambitious Action Plan for Animal Welfare on 12 May 2021, setting out current and future work on animal welfare. Now that we have left the EU, we are making significant changes to domestic law through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, bringing in legislation to further protect the welfare of pets, farmed and kept wild animals in Great Britain.</p><p>The Kept Animals Bill was reintroduced to the House of Commons in May 2022 and will progress to Report stage as soon as parliamentary time allows. The Bill allows us further 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. We recognise there is strong support for the Bill from all sides of the House and we have been actively working with hon. Members, Peers and our partners to make sure that the reforms work effectively.</p><p>We already operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All non-commercial dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain on approved routes (every route other than Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies) under the Pet Travel rules undergo 100% documentary and identity checks by authorised pet checkers.</p><p>The Animal and Plant Health Agency works collaboratively with Border Force and other operational partners at ports, airports and inland, sharing intelligence to enforce the Pet Travel rules, disrupt illegal imports, safeguard the welfare of animals and seize non-compliant animals.</p><p>We have no plans to introduce further visual checks.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 18/11/2022 14:21:46 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1506089

registered interest
date	08/09/2022
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	Pets: Animal Welfare
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 discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the increase in household bills on pet welfare.
tabling member constituency	Pontypridd
tabling member printed	Alex Davies-Jones
uin	901335
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2022 answer text <p>The Government is actively considering the impact of rising bills on all aspects of people’s lives. Defra is in close contact with animal welfare organisations and meets them regularly to understand issues that are affecting the sector, including the impact of rising bills.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 26/09/2022 09:09:49 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4849 label Biography information for Alex Davies-Jones

1490131

registered interest
date	18/07/2022
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	Pets: Animal Welfare
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 steps he has taken to ensure that domestic pets are not put at risk during a period of extreme heat.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	38723
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2022 answer text <p>We are acutely aware of the potential risks that hot weather creates for pets. Defra has issued communications over the last week to give tips to pet owners on steps to take in hot weather to keep their pets safe. This includes social media posts on how to keep your dog or cat cool, encouraging pet owners to know the signs of heatstroke:<a href="https://twitter.com/DefraGovUK/status/1548215892692963329?s=20&amp;t=eQ0yptnzMwlN0QlkDXa8sA" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/DefraGovUK/status/1548215892692963329?s=20&amp;t=eQ0yptnzMwlN0QlkDXa8sA</a> and guidance on caring for horses in extreme weather: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/keeping-farm-animals-and-horses-in-extreme-weather" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/keeping-farm-animals-and-horses-in-extreme-weather</a>.</p><p> </p><p>A number of veterinary and animal welfare organisations have also published advice and guidance for pet owners on caring for their pets during periods of extreme heat. For example, The British Veterinary Association issued advice to pet owners on keeping pets safe during hot weather which you can find here: <a href="https://www.bva.co.uk/news-and-blog/news-article/sunscreen-shade-and-sunset-walkies-vets-issue-urgent-heatwave-advice-as-temperatures-set-to-rival-2018-record/" target="_blank">https://www.bva.co.uk/news-and-blog/news-article/sunscreen-shade-and-sunset-walkies-vets-issue-urgent-heatwave-advice-as-temperatures-set-to-rival-2018-record/</a>. World Horse Welfare also provided advice on caring for horses: <a href="https://int.worldhorsewelfare.org/news/hot-weather-and-horses" target="_blank">https://int.worldhorsewelfare.org/news/hot-weather-and-horses</a>.</p> answering member constituency St Austell and Newquay answering member printed Steve Double question first answered 26/07/2022 12:49:09 answering member 4452 label Biography information for Steve Double
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell