Anyone walking dogs is required to comply with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which requires individuals in control of animals to protect them from unnecessary suffering, and to provide for their welfare needs. Commercial dog walkers should also comply with any other relevant legislation, local authority and insurance policy requirements.

The government currently has no plans to introduce new mandatory licensing for professional dogs walkers or to introduce a new mandatory limit on the number of dogs that a person can walk at any one time. The Canine and Feline Sector Group has published guidance to assist dog walkers. This can be found here: General Guidance Documents – CFSG.

We have some of the strongest biosecurity and safety controls in the world to help protect people and animals against diseases coming into the country.

Whilst I am unable to comment on individual cases, I can provide reassurance that the Animal and Plant Health Agency has worked closely and constructively with Nowzad to manage rabies and other disease risks effectively. Dogs were only released to Nowzad after fully completing the necessary rabies quarantine and treatment process.

We have separately taken a number of wider actions to address the risks posed by Brucella canis. Firstly, we have required that incidences of the pathogen in dogs are now reportable under the Zoonoses Order. This will allow us to monitor the number of cases and determine whether there is a wider problem within the existing UK dog population. In addition we are working to raise the profile of the disease with public health and veterinary professionals. We have undertaken a risk review and statement on the public health risk which was published on the UK Health Security Agency website on 12 February 2021, and our Chief Veterinary Officer has written an open letter to the Vet Record to warn veterinarians about the risk and what to look for in sick dogs. We will continue to gather information on the disease risk posed by Brucella canis and will consider any further actions as appropriate.

The Government takes puppy smuggling and illegal dog breeding seriously. Now we have left the EU, we have the opportunity to manage our own pet travel and commercial importation rules. We continue to work closely with other countries and authorities, including Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in Republic of Ireland, to provide protection for those animals brought in by unscrupulous traders and to prevent the trade as much as we can.

The Government has a manifesto commitment to crack down on puppy smuggling. We are now making some significant changes to domestic law through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill which includes measures to address puppy smuggling. The Bill was introduced in Parliament on the 8 June and second reading took place on 25 October. The Bill will progress through Parliament when parliamentary time allows.

While the UK Government cannot guarantee that other countries will adopt similar welfare standards to our own, we are able to encourage others to do so through membership of international organisations such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will also continue its work to raise concerns about the welfare of animals with other Governments and international authorities at every suitable opportunity.

Defra is responsible for safeguarding animal welfare and biosecurity, including the commercial and non-commercial movement of cats, dogs and ferrets into Great Britain. However, pet travel is devolved, and we work with the devolved administrations to combat puppy smuggling.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland (DAERA) is the competent authority for Belfast Port.

The Government takes puppy smuggling seriously. We continue to work closely with our colleagues across the devolved administrations and non-governmental organisations to provide protection for those animals brought in by unscrupulous traders and to prevent the trade as much as we can.

Defra takes the abhorrent trade in puppy smuggling seriously. We operate a rigorous pet-checking regime, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency works collaboratively with other agencies and bodies to share intelligence, disrupt illegal imports and seize non-compliant animals.

The end of the transition period has created new opportunities for cracking down on puppy smuggling, and in line with our manifesto commitment the Government is considering a range of options. These options will take into consideration the results from our latest disease risk assessments for GB, the recommendations of stakeholders such as the British Veterinary Association and Dogs Trust, and recent Parliamentary work from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

The Government consulted on changes to the regulations on the breeding and sale of dogs earlier this year and proposed that all dog breeders that breed and sell three or more litters of puppies per year should hold a licence. The Government did not propose in the consultation banning third party sales. Such a ban is not supported by many of the major animal welfare organisations.

The Government published a summary of replies to the consultation on 15 September this year. The Government’s response to the consultation will be published in due course.

The Government consulted on changes to the regulations on the breeding and sale of dogs earlier this year and proposed that all dog breeders that breed and sell three or more litters of puppies per year should hold a licence. The Government did not propose in the consultation banning third party sales. Such a ban is not supported by many of the major animal welfare organisations.

The Government published a summary of replies to the consultation on 15 September this year. The Government’s response to the consultation will be published in due course.

My Lords, as I say, the Government take these matters extremely seriously. It is indeed the whole basis of what we are doing in the consultations. We are now assessing the 1,500 responses on the matter. They are precisely designed for what we wish to do—to enhance animal welfare outcomes. The noble Baroness is absolutely right that there are existing powers, but we think that the review will enable us to modernise the law so that they meet the new challenges and, indeed, improve enforcement, which is so vital.

My Lords, the Government take these matters very seriously and that is why we are reviewing the legislation on dog breeding and pet shops in England. Local authorities already investigate welfare concerns over dog breeding establishments and can revoke a licence to operate. Checks on pet dogs are carried out at the UK border, with commercial imports being certified by official veterinarians. The Animal and Plant Health Agency carries out inland checks on imported dogs.

We are aware that some unscrupulous individuals are illegally importing pet animals with the intention of selling them on arrival in the UK. The Government takes the issue seriously and we are committed to working with relevant agencies and other non-government organisations to tackle this illegal trade. National resources engaged in this work include the transport companies (or their agents) who ensure compliance with the pet travel scheme, staff at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) who monitor and regulate the import of animals, and Local Authorities who enforce legislation where illegally imported pets are discovered. The APHA actively shares intelligence it gathers relating to abuse of the pet travel rules with Local Authorities and other EU Member States. This enables further investigation and follow up action to take place. Defra and the APHA have also provided practical support to multi-agency collaborative enforcement action. For example, in April last year, we assisted with the ageing of young puppies during ‘Operation Bloodhound’, which resulted in several penalty notices and cautions being issued.

The illegal trade is ultimately driven by demand for cheap, pedigree puppies. The Government has published guidance to outline steps that prospective pet owners should take to avoid buying an illegally imported pet. The Government is currently consulting on a number of proposals to update the laws on the breeding and selling of dogs. The proposals include requiring anyone who breeds more than two litters of puppies a year to be licensed. An exemption from local authority licencing is proposed where a business is regulated by a body accredited by the UK Accreditation Service to certify, at a minimum, the legally-required welfare licence conditions. The consultation ends on 12 March.

Defra recognises the problems that can arise from the on-line advertising of pets for sale. In recent years, the Department has been working closely with and supporting the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) – which is a grouping of animal welfare charities, veterinary experts, animal keeping interests and the pet industry. Working with PAAG, we have been able to encourage six of the main on-line pet advertising sites to adopt minimum standards for adverts and to remove those that do not meet the standards. With PAAG’s help and the cooperation of six key on-line sites, over 130,000 inappropriate adverts for animals were removed over a 12-month period in 2014/15. We continue to work with PAAG to encourage more on-line sites to sign up to the minimum standards.

The requirement for vaccination against rabies prior to movement into the UK from other European Union Member States and certain other low risk countries is set out in of Regulation (EU) No 576/2013, the Pet Travel Regulation. The Regulation requires effective rabies vaccination prior to movement. This means that dogs must be a minimum of 12 weeks of age before being vaccinated against rabies as there is a risk that vaccination at a younger age may provide ineffective protection. The requirement for 21 days to elapse between vaccination and movement is to allow rabies immunity to develop. These rules were amended on 29 December 2014 and included an increase in the minimum age at which a dog could be vaccinated. We are not aware of any plans by the Commission to bring forward proposals to further amend the rules and we have no plans to seek an amendment.

Core skills training provided to Border Force officers includes awareness training on controls on the movement of live animals into the UK. Specific guidance is also available to officers on the application of the Pet Travel Scheme. Border Force is also developing its targeting capability across all border related risks, including bio-security risks.

Border Force is working closely with the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), the lead government department with responsibility for imports of live animals, to ensure the effective enforcement of legislation governing the import of animals.