Written question asked by David Drew (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 25 March 2010. It was answered by Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour) on Tuesday, 30 March 2010 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dogs: Animal Breeding

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will extend the terms of reference of his Department's consultation on dangerous dogs legislation to include policy on dog breeding.

Answer: The public consultation currently being conducted by the Home Office and DEFRA is aimed at considering whether current dangerous dogs legislation adequately protects the public. We will consider any suggestions for legislative changes that will help better protect the public from dangerous dogs. However, the health and welfare issues surrounding dog breeding have recently been considered by Professor Sir Patrick Bateson in his independent inquiry into dog breeding along with the Associate Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare (APGAW) in their report into pedigree dog breeding. As we are currently considering both reports and need to gauge how the wider veterinarian and scientific communities respond to their recommendations, it would not be appropriate to extend the consultation on dangerous dogs to include health and welfare issues surrounding dog breeding.

Secondary information