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Smuggling inquiry launched

Issue: 09/08/2019

The Environment and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) in the House of Commons is to launch an inquiry into puppy smuggling.

Dogs can come into the country legally from the EU for commercial and non-commercial reasons using two different schemes, the Balai Directive and the EU Pet Travel Scheme (PETS).

In 2017 the EFRA Committee looked into the PETS scheme and they concluded that the PETS scheme was providing, ‘a vehicle for the illegal importation of puppies.’

One of their recommendations in the report, Animal Welfare in England: domestic pets, was that, ‘The Government ban third party sales of dogs’ as ‘ dogs should only be available from licensed, regulated breeders or approved rehoming organisations.’
At the time the government ignored their recommendation but in December 2018 the then Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, announced it would introduce a ban on third-party sales known as Lucy’s Law.

This followed an award winning campaign by the Lucy’s Law team led by vet and campaigner Marc Abraham. Recently, the Welsh Government also announced that they are planning to ban the third-party sales of puppies.

Chair of the EFRA committee Neil Parish MP said, ‘Puppies are smuggled into the UK as young as possible to meet the demand for cute and cuddly pets. 

‘They are often bred in terrible conditions, taken from their mothers too young and endure long and stressful journeys to reach the UK. There is even evidence that pregnant bitches are being smuggled in. This is a significant animal welfare concern.
‘While I am pleased that the Government is going to introduce a ban on the third party sales of puppies, more can be done to tackle this terrible trade. We will therefore be following up on this part of our 2017 inquiry into the welfare of domestic pets in England.’
The committee are seeking written submissions on the following questions:

1. How many puppies are imported into the UK illegally, including under the EU Pet Travel Scheme?

2. Are border controls in the UK sufficient to detect puppies being imported illegally, and if not, how should this be improved?

3. After EU Exit, should the UK introduce tougher controls on pet imports? How would these be balanced against the needs of people legally transporting pets across borders?

4. Will the ban on third party sales of puppies: (i) encourage buyers to source puppies responsibly; and (ii) reduce illegal puppy smuggling?

5. How could demand in the UK for puppies be better met by domestic breeding?

The deadline for submissions is the 23 September and they can be submitted through the puppy smuggling inquiry page - https://bit.ly/317GkOz.


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