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Written question asked by Neil Hudson (Conservative) on Monday, 1 November 2021, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 3 November 2021. It was answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury (Conservative) on Tuesday, 9 November 2021 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Cats and Dogs: Imports

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to raise to six months the minimum age for cats and dogs to be transported into the UK.

Answer

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June with second reading on 25 October. 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 on 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 into Great Britain. This included a proposal to raise the minimum age dogs can be non-commercially or commercially imported into Great Britain from 15 weeks to six months. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary response in due course. We will take into account the views of the public and will continue to work closely with stakeholders to ensure that our final measures are well considered and are guided by the latest evidence.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
67313
Session
2021-22
Subjects
Age Dogs Imports Cats
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk