Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the Act), owners and keepers must protect their animals from harm and provide for their welfare needs in line with best practice.

The Act is supported by Codes of Practice for Dogs and Cats. The Codes include guidance on providing a suitable environment for the animal, including information on protecting the animal from extreme temperatures and weather conditions.

Local authorities and the police have powers to enforce the Act and can intervene where an animal is suspected to be suffering.

Under the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, both cats and dogs are required to be microchipped. There are no current plans to publish best practice guidance on enforcing the requirement for all cats and dogs to be microchipped and we will continue to keep this under review.

Local authorities and police have powers to enforce breaches of the Regulation. It will be for each local authority to determine on a case-by-case basis whether enforcement action is proportionate.

Under the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, both cats and dogs are required to be microchipped. There are no current plans to publish best practice guidance on enforcing the requirement for all cats and dogs to be microchipped and we will continue to keep this under review.

Local authorities and police have powers to enforce breaches of the Regulation. It will be for each local authority to determine on a case-by-case basis whether enforcement action is proportionate.

We will keep under review whether to grant local authorities the power to issue conditional fixed penalty notices for non-compliance with microchipping regulations for dogs and cats.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, owners and keepers of animals are responsible for ensuring their animals are provided with a suitable diet, and for protecting them from pain, suffering, injury, and illness. Animal welfare organisations offer advice on how to keep pets safe from accidental poisoning and what to do if someone suspects their pet may have been poisoned.

The Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2024 was signed into law on 5 March 2024 and will prohibit the keeping of primates as pets in England without a specialist license, improving the welfare of potentially thousands of animals. The legislation sets strict rules to ensure that only private keepers who can provide zoo-level welfare standards will be able to keep primates and will come into force on 6 April 2026.

The Ministry of Justice currently collects and publishes data relating to the offence of not microchipping your dog in England and Wales.

The relevant offence code is 11126 and the latest data is available here:

As the compulsory microchipping of cats was only introduced in England in June 2024, these figures will relate to dogs only at this stage.

Activities such as the breeding and sale of pets and pet boarding are regulated under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. Defra is in the process of completing a post-implementation review (PIR) of the Regulations. This review considers whether the regulations have met their objectives, and where there could be scope for further improvements. We recognise the importance of this PIR, and thus want to ensure that we have had sufficient time to properly consider the findings. The PIR will be published soon.

Defra values the engagement of sector partners, local authorities, animal welfare groups, and licensed and unlicensed businesses working in the sector. We will continue a close dialogue with these stakeholders as we work to implement the review’s recommendations.

The government recognises that pets can bring joy, happiness, and comfort to their owners, as well as supporting their mental and physical wellbeing. The ability of a leaseholder to keep a pet will depend on the terms of individual leases.

We are due to bring forward further leasehold reforms later in this Parliament. Whilst we cannot set out the precise details of a bill at this stage, we have been clear about our commitment to addressing the historic imbalance in the leasehold system.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 176692 on 21 April 2023.

We are continuing to seek agreement from the European Commission on awarding Great Britain 'Part 1' listed status. Achieving this would allow pet owners and assistance dog users to use pet passports when travelling to the EU.

The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) were developed to help improve welfare standards across a range of activities involving animals that are licensed by local authorities, including the selling of animals as pets and dog breeding.

Under the 2018 Regulations local authorities have powers to grant, refuse or revoke a licence. Licences must achieve and maintain statutory minimum animal welfare standards, linked to the welfare needs of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act), and local authorities have the power to grant, refuse or revoke a licence. Defra publishes supporting guidance for the 2018 Regulations which is statutory, meaning that local authorities need to follow it. This aims to improve consistency in interpretation and application of the licensing regime across England. The guidance is available on GOV.UK, please see here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-activities-licensing-guidance-for-local-authorities/.

Under the 2018 Regulations, licensed breeders are prohibited from breeding dogs if it can be reasonably expected that on the basis of their genotype, phenotype or health, this would lead to welfare problems for the mother or the puppies which applies in the case of brachycephalic breeds. Both licensed and unlicensed animal breeders are required under the 2006 Act to protect the animals involved in breeding from harm and to provide for their welfare in line with good practice. A breach of these provisions may lead to imprisonment, a fine, or both.

In the case of dogs and cats, the 2006 Act is backed up by statutory codes of practice which provide owners and keepers with general welfare information, including a specific section on how to protect them from pain, suffering, injury and disease. Both codes of practice recommend that owners seek the advice of a veterinary professional who can advise on the risks of inherited conditions and exaggerated features. The codes also reinforce the requirement for owners to take all reasonable steps to ensure that they are able to provide the care required during pregnancy.

Additionally, Defra maintains a national communications campaign (Petfished) to raise awareness of issues associated with the supply of low-welfare pets. This includes providing clear signposting on where responsible breeders and rehoming centres can be found and encouraging prospective buyers to research the seller thoroughly before they visit and decide to purchase. The campaign provides a list of red flags for buyers to look out for when searching for a pet online and highlights the importance of ensuring that the dog’s physical appearance has minimal adverse impact to their physical well-being and welfare. More information can be found here: https://getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk/.

Lastly, Defra also works alongside members of the Brachycephalic Working Group to work to improve the health and welfare of brachycephalic dogs. Further information on the group and its work can be found here: http://www.ukbwg.org.uk/.

Companion animals are a really good thing—cats, dogs or whatever they are—and it is vital that we work with landlords to ensure that people have the right to have the animal that brings so much joy into their lives with them, whatever form of tenure they enjoy.

The Tenant Fees Act prohibits most fees beyond rent and a deposit capped at 5 weeks rent where total annual rent is less than £50,000. As such, a landlord cannot require that a tenant take out insurance for a pet.

Regarding pet ownership, the Government recommends the deposit cap is used as a maximum, rather than the default. Charging a deposit of four weeks rent provides leeway to expand to five weeks in situations such as where the tenant owns a pet. This approach should therefore accommodate private renters who wish to keep pets, without the need for pet insurance, or a separate pet deposit.

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 introduced a cap of five weeks’ rent for properties with an annual rent below £50,000, and banned most letting fees charged to tenants.

The five week cap should be considered the maximum, rather than the default amount charged. This approach should therefore accommodate private renters who wish to keep pets, without the need for a separate pet deposit. The Government has no plans at this time to amend the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

The Government is committed to recruiting an extra 20,000 police officers by March 2023, with a third of that target (6,620 officers) having already been recruited. It is for operationally independent Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to determine how officers are deployed.

According to the regulations you may leave your home for the purpose of caring for or exercising your pet and other animals you own or keep. It is acceptable to leave your home where this is reasonably necessary for animal welfare reasons.

Travelling to a boarding kennel or cattery to collect your pet meets these conditions. Equally, pet owners could ask if the boarding kennel or cattery could bring their pet back home to them.

The Canine and Feline Sector Group has issued advice for pet businesses, including animal boarding establishments, on how to operate safely within the new restrictions. This includes a protocol for the handover of pets. All admission and return of pets should be by appointment only to ensure social distancing can be applied. Some providers will operate a collection and drop-off service.

This advice us available here: https://www.cfsg.org.uk/repository/360/

We have strong animal welfare standards for pets in this country, and have taken recent steps to enhance those protections including banning the third party sale of puppies and kittens, updating the companion animal welfare codes and introducing legislation to increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty to 5 years imprisonment. These standards will be maintained when we leave the EU and we will look to strengthen standards further where supported by scientific and veterinary evidence.

Infections that can be passed from animals to people are known as zoonoses. However transmission of zoonotic infections from domestic pets to humans is rare and the risk of contracting diseases from domestic pets is low, even in groups with increased susceptibility to infection such as immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women. Risks can be reduced further by adopting simple measures such as good hygiene practices, and for pregnant women avoiding contact with cat litter trays. General information on zoonotic infections acquired from pets and advice on reducing the risk is provided on the NHS Choices website:

www.nhs.uk/livewell/allergies/pages/pet-hygiene.aspx

Public Health England (PHE) is the agency which monitors zoonotic infections in people. PHE assesses the risk of zoonoses, identifies groups where there may be increased risk and produces appropriate advice and information on specific zoonoses. This is available to the public and is accessible through the PHE website:

www.gov.uk/government/collections/zoonotic-diseases-zoonoses-guidance-data-and-analysis