Written question asked by Baroness Tonge (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 6 May 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 13 May 2003. It was answered by Patricia Hewitt (Labour) on Tuesday, 13 May 2003 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps her Department has taken to (a) control and (b) prohibit the import of furs of domestic cats and dogs.

Answer: Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department has taken to (a) control and (b) prohibit the import of furs of domestic cats and dogs. [112249] Ms Hewitt: The Government are investigating possibilities for labelling any products that may contain domestic cat and dog fur. Equally we are working to ensure a reliable scientific test is in place to validate the accuracy of any such labels. This will give consumers the information they want about what exactly they are buying. It has not proved possible to determine either through trade statistics or through scientific testing, what level of imports of these products, if any, is entering the UK. Therefore the Government do not consider any prohibition on imports to be proportionate to the scale of the problem at this time.

Secondary information