Animal welfare is a devolved matter in the UK. This means that responsibility for animal welfare policy in each of the nations, including the regulation of dog breeding, is the responsibility of the relevant nation’s Ministers.

Defra works closely with the devolved Governments on a range of shared priorities, including animal welfare, and will discuss any relevant matters as necessary, including at meetings of the Interministerial Group (EFRA).

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on offenders convicted for animal cruelty offences in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

However, data held centrally does not include information on whether defendants were convicted for offences related to puppy farming.

This information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

As outlined in our manifesto, the Government will bring an end to puppy farming. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.

Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations), anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a twelve-month period needs to hold a valid licence issued by their local authority. All dog breeders, including canine fertility clinics who do not meet the threshold for licensing under the 2018 Regulations, are obliged under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to protect their animals from suffering and provide for their welfare needs in line with best practice. A breach of these provisions may lead to imprisonment, a fine, or both.

This Government takes the issue of low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies very seriously. Significant steps have already been taken to improve and update the laws on dog breeding in England to crack down on unscrupulous breeders who breed dogs purely for financial greed at the expense of animal welfare.

Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a 12-month period needs to have a valid licence from their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards, including provisions to protect dogs from being bred from too often or at an early age, which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing legislation in this area, and records of their enforcement activity are not centrally collated.

The 2018 Regulations are due to be reviewed five years after they came into force (2023) and so this will be an appropriate time to re-examine the standards, the associated guidance and consider any changes.  As part of planning for this review, we are proactively working with partners, including local authorities, to collate data that can provide a picture of licensed and unlicensed activities involving animals in England, including dog breeding. We will be working with partners, including local authorities and stakeholder sector groups, while we undertake this review.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, local authorities, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the police all have powers to investigate allegations of animal cruelty or poor welfare (including power of entry to inspect premises). 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 addition to welfare concerns applying to new pet owners being provided with pets from illegal domestic puppy farms, welfare concerns also arise in relation to imported pets. The "Action Plan for Animal Welfare" includes a commitment to address this issue and end the abhorrent, cruel practice of puppy smuggling and low-welfare pet imports.

APHA works collaboratively with Border Force and other operational partners at ports, airports and inland, sharing intelligence to enforce the pet travel rules, disrupt illegal imports, safeguard the welfare of animals and seize non-compliant animals.

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was reintroduced following the Queen's speech and will progress to Report stage in the Commons as soon as Parliamentary time allows. The Bill allows us to further 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 the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

This Government takes the issue of low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies very seriously. Significant steps have already been taken to improve and update the laws on dog breeding in England to crack down on unscrupulous breeders who breed dogs purely for financial greed at the expense of animal welfare. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the licence requirements for animal related activities such as pet selling or dog breeding. They therefore hold details of the enforcement activity being undertaken in their area, including information relating to low-welfare and illegal breeding activity.

Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a 12-month period needs to have a valid licence from their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards, including provisions to protect dogs from being bred from too often or at an early age, which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences. Any licensee advertising dogs for sale will need to include their licence number in the advert and specify the local authority who issued the licence. Additional requirements placed on advertisements include that the age of the dog for sale must be displayed along with a recognisable photograph.

We banned the commercial third-party sales of puppies and kittens in England from 6 April 2020. This ban aims to disrupt the low-welfare trade that supports puppy farming by preventing pet shops, pet dealers and other commercial outlets from selling these animals in England unless they themselves have bred them. It means anyone looking to get a puppy must buy direct from a breeder or consider adopting from a rescue centre instead.

Meanwhile my department maintains Petfished, a national communications campaign, to raise awareness of issues associated with low-welfare and illegal supply of pets. This includes providing clear signposting to 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. More information can be found here:

https://getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk.

Investigation of suspected theft is a matter for the police. The Government is committed to recruiting 20,000 more police officers in England and Wales by March 2023. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, the police have now recruited an extra 9,814 officers, 49% of the 20,000-officer target.

We recognise the distress dog and indeed all pet theft causes and are committed to doing more to prevent these cruel crimes. As part of the work of the Government’s Pet Theft Taskforce, which launched on 8 May, we have assembled evidence and considered the issue from end to end, including causes, prevention, reporting, enforcement and prosecution.

The report of the Taskforce was published on 2 September and as well as recommending a new pet abduction offence, the Taskforce recommended the Government continues to work with the police to improve consistent recording and data collection of pet thefts, and makes improvements to pet microchipping to support the identification of lost and stolen dogs.

The report of the Taskforce can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pet-theft-taskforce-report

The government fully understands the deep distress caused by the theft of a much-loved pet and the importance of dealing with such crimes. All reported crimes should be taken seriously, investigated and, where appropriate, taken through the courts and met with tough sentences. Theft has a maximum penalty of 7 years’ imprisonment and burglary has a maximum penalty of 14 years, and so the courts can already deal with these cases effectively.

Earlier this year the Lord Chancellor, Home Secretary and Environment Secretary met to discuss a cross-government approach to address pet theft, and set up a cross-Government taskforce to investigate and tackle this issue.

This taskforce will gather evidence to understand the factors that may be contributing to any rise in pet thefts and to recommend any necessary measures to tackle the problem. It will consider the issue from end to end, including causes, prevention, reporting, and enforcement, examining every option available to protect families from this hurtful crime and make sure perpetrators feel the full force of the law. The taskforce is due to report its recommendations in the summer.

The Government takes the issue of low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies very seriously. Significant steps have already been taken to improve and update the laws on dog breeding in England to crack down on unscrupulous breeders who breed dogs purely for financial greed at the expense of animal welfare.

Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs or who breeds three or more litters in a 12-month period needs to have a valid licence from their local authority. Licencees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences. Commercial third-party sales of puppies and kittens were banned in England from 6 April 2020. This prevents pet shops, pet dealers and other commercial outlets from selling these animals in England unless they themselves have bred them. It means anyone looking to get a puppy or kitten must buy direct from a breeder or consider adopting from a rescue centre instead.

On 12 May 2021 the Government published its Action Plan for Animal Welfare. This is a wide-reaching and ambitious plan to set out our current and future work on animal welfare. The Government has a manifesto commitment to crack down on puppy smuggling and one of our key reforms in the plan is to end the abhorrent, cruel practice of puppy smuggling and low-welfare pet imports. We are planning to bring in powers that will allow us to prohibit the importation and non-commercial movement of dogs into Great Britain that have been subject to low welfare practices.

The information requested is not available. There is no requirement for hunting dogs hypoglycemia to be reported to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

Lungworm infections have been found in dogs in the UK for many years. They cannot be transmitted to humans. Effective medicines for treatment and control are available, therefore, we do not see a requirement for government intervention.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, Dr Lisa Cameron, on 12 November 2018, PQ UIN 187378.

The information requested is not held centrally. The Home Office holds information on notifiable offences recorded by the police including theft offences, but it is not possible to tell from this information how many dogs or pets in general were stolen.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted between animals and humans by infected ticks. Dogs can pick up infected ticks outdoors and bring them into the home or garden, which could lead to Lyme disease in any bitten human. There is no evidence to show that Lyme disease can be transmitted from person-to-person, therefore dog walkers cannot contribute to the spread of the disease.

Public Health England (PHE) provides advice to the public on being tick aware, how to remove ticks and the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease. This information is available through the GOV.UK website and is relevant to dog walkers as well as the general public and can be used by local authorities in their own advice. PHE has also helped revise the patient advice on NHS Choices and the Government website contains links to Lyme disease information.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/552740/Ticksandyourhealthinfoabouttickbites.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/463701/LymeDisease_SignsAndSymptoms.pdf

Last month, the Government published its Next Steps document which set out proposals for modernising the licensing of the breeding and selling of dogs in England. The Government proposes that anyone breeding and selling three or more litters of dogs in a twelve month period will need a licence. The majority of responses to our earlier consultation supported this proposal which strikes the right balance between being reasonable to enforce, providing a proportionate response and helping to target regulatory effort on those breeders producing dogs on a commercial basis.

Statistics of dogs put down because they could not be re-homed are not held by central Government. However, Dogs Trust carry out an annual survey of local authorities. The attached table is taken from information from the last five Dogs Trust surveys.

Apr 2014 - Mar 2015 – 5,142

Apr 2013 - Mar 2014 – 7,058

Apr 2012 - Mar 2013 – 7,319

Apr 2011 - Mar 2012 – 8,903

Apr 2010 - Mar 2011 – 7,121