The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain do not include data on the reasons for changes in the number of procedures carried out year to year.

The government is committed to the replacement, reduction, and refinement of the use of animals in science.

We will be taking forward measures in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill individually through other means during the remainder of this Parliament. This includes the manifesto commitments to ban live exports for fattening and slaughter and to crack down on puppy smuggling. We will also deliver the manifesto commitment to ban the keeping of primates as pets, which will be implemented via a statutory instrument to be laid this year.

For the 2021-22 reporting period, my Department received returns from 233 local authorities in England, which represents a doubling of the response rate from the previous year.

My Department asks all local authorities to complete their returns in full. The 2022-23 data return opened on 1st April and will run until 31st May. This year, my officials have used multiple platforms to remind local authorities of their obligation to provide their returns and of the benefits of doing so.

For the 2021-22 reporting period, my Department received returns from 233 local authorities in England, which represents a doubling of the response rate from the previous year.

My Department asks all local authorities to complete their returns in full. The 2022-23 data return opened on 1st April and will run until 31st May. This year, my officials have used multiple platforms to remind local authorities of their obligation to provide their returns and of the benefits of doing so.

For the 2021-22 reporting period, my Department received returns from 233 local authorities in England, which represents a doubling of the response rate from the previous year.

My Department asks all local authorities to complete their returns in full. The 2022-23 data return opened on 1st April and will run until 31st May. This year, my officials have used multiple platforms to remind local authorities of their obligation to provide their returns and of the benefits of doing so.

Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, local authorities are required to provide an annual return detailing the number of licences in force on 1^st April each year, and the average fees associated with the grant or renewal of each licence. There is no requirement for local authorities to provide information on licence holders’ commercial activities, such as the number of litters bred by a licenced dog breeder. Under the 2018 Regulations, local authorities have until 31^st May each year to provide their returns. Data from 2022 is published by Defra and can be found here: Local Authority Licensing of Activities involving Animals returns - data.gov.uk

We operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All non-commercial dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain on approved routes (every route other than Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies) under the Pet Travel rules undergo 100% documentary and identity checks by authorised pet checkers at the point of entry. Carriers can refer suspected non-compliances to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

Animal welfare legislation requires that when animals are transported their transportation must comply fully with legal requirements aimed at protecting their welfare, such as, they must be fit for the intended journey; transported in the appropriate conditions; and, when transportation is for a commercial purpose, the transporter must hold a GB authorisation. 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 introduced in Parliament on 8 June 2021 and completed committee on 18 November 2021. 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. In August 2021, the Government launched an eight-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets, including rescue pets, into Great Britain. This included proposals to ban the commercial and non-commercial movement into Great Britain of puppies under the age of six months, heavily pregnant dogs and dogs which have been subjected to low welfare practices such as ear cropping or tail docking. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary response in due course. This will allow us to take onboard the views of the public and interested groups on puppy smuggling and low welfare imports in order to shape our future policy.

My officials have held several discussions with HM Revenue and Customs on the work of their Task Force to tackle issues relating to tax evasion and puppy and kitten sales. HM Revenue and Customs continues to work with many Agencies to tackle those individuals involved in the illicit puppy and kitten trade.

Dangerous dogs law is concerned with protecting the safety of the public. The Dangerous Dogs Exemption Schemes (England and Wales) Order 2015 reflects the amendments made by section 107 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The intention is to remedy the situation created by the High Court decision in R (Sandhu) v Isleworth Crown Court [2012]. The 2015 Order returns the position on ownership of four types of prohibited dogs broadly to where it was before that judgment. The four types of dog are prohibited because they are of a type bred for fighting. The 2015 Order requires a court, when considering whether to exempt a prohibited dog, to take into account whether the intended keeper is a “fit and proper person” and other matters such as suitability of accommodation.

The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 states that no person shall give away, sell, or exchange a prohibited dog. The Sandhu judgment was seen as allowing keepership of exempted prohibited dogs to be transferred to anyone else by the owner with no supervision by the courts or by the Index of Exempted Dogs (which maintains a register of exempted prohibited dogs and liaises with the police.) The 2015 Order prevents exempted prohibited dogs from being transferred in such a way but allows change of keepership where the existing owner has died or has become seriously ill.

The Dangerous Dogs Exemption Schemes (England and Wales) Order 2015 recognises that owning and keeping a prohibited dog is a significant responsibility. These dogs are bred for fighting and Parliament has agreed that there should be restrictions and conditions on their ownership in order to protect public safety. The court plays an important role in determining whether a prohibited dog is a danger to public safety and must take into account whether the person intending to be in charge of the dog is a fit and proper person. The expectation of Parliament is that the person approved by the court will have day-to-day responsibility for the dog. There is a limit on how long a prohibited dog can be kept away from its home under the supervision of the person approved by the court. This ensures that the dog is kept in suitable accommodation at premises known to the police and is under the supervision of the court-approved person at all times.

A public consultation exercise on a package of measures aimed at promoting more responsible dog ownership ran from 23 April to 15 June 2012. This included aspects of the 2015 Order including provisions to enable seized suspected prohibited dogs not considered by the police to be a danger to public safety to be returned to their owner, subject to conditions, pending a court judgment on the fate of the dog. These provisions were widely supported. The keepership elements the 2015 Order return the law more closely to the position agreed by Parliament before the judgment in

R (Sandhu) v Isleworth Crown Court [2012] and address issues of public safety. The police were consulted on these provisions. Dogs Trust was consulted on the changes relating to insurance of owners of prohibited dogs.

In its response to the EFRA Committee pre-legislative scrutiny report of the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill, the Government made clear it would be bringing forward an Order to prescribe the limited circumstances when transfer of keepership of a prohibited dog is permitted. The issue was also covered in the fact sheets accompanying the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Bill during its passage through Parliament.

The Dangerous Dogs Exemption Schemes (England and Wales) Order 2015 recognises that owning and keeping a prohibited dog is a significant responsibility. These dogs are bred for fighting and Parliament has agreed that there should be restrictions and conditions on their ownership in order to protect public safety. The court plays an important role in determining whether a prohibited dog is a danger to public safety and must take into account whether the person intending to be in charge of the dog is a fit and proper person. The expectation of Parliament is that the person approved by the court will have day-to-day responsibility for the dog. There is a limit on how long a prohibited dog can be kept away from its home under the supervision of the person approved by the court. This ensures that the dog is kept in suitable accommodation at premises known to the police and is under the supervision of the court-approved person at all times.

A public consultation exercise on a package of measures aimed at promoting more responsible dog ownership ran from 23 April to 15 June 2012. This included aspects of the 2015 Order including provisions to enable seized suspected prohibited dogs not considered by the police to be a danger to public safety to be returned to their owner, subject to conditions, pending a court judgment on the fate of the dog. These provisions were widely supported. The keepership elements the 2015 Order return the law more closely to the position agreed by Parliament before the judgment in

R (Sandhu) v Isleworth Crown Court [2012] and address issues of public safety. The police were consulted on these provisions. Dogs Trust was consulted on the changes relating to insurance of owners of prohibited dogs.

In its response to the EFRA Committee pre-legislative scrutiny report of the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill, the Government made clear it would be bringing forward an Order to prescribe the limited circumstances when transfer of keepership of a prohibited dog is permitted. The issue was also covered in the fact sheets accompanying the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Bill during its passage through Parliament.