Recommendation 19

HM Government · verbatim extract Acknowledged

The Government shares the Committee’s concern and partially accepts this recommendation. As outlined in our manifesto we will end puppy smuggling, and we are committed to clamping down on unscrupulous traders who prioritise profit over welfare. Ear cropping, cosmetic tail docking and cat declawing have rightly been banned in the UK for over 15 years. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence in England and Wales to carry out a non-exempted mutilation e.g., where a surgical procedure is not carried out for medical purposes, such as the cropping of a dog’s ears. While these practices are illegal in the UK, we recognise that the current legislative framework can be abused by traders who import these animals from abroad. The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by Dr Danny Chambers MP. The Bill will close loopholes in the non-commercial pet travel rules by reducing the number of animals that can travel in a single movement from five per person to five per vehicle, or three per foot or air passenger. The Bill will also ensure that the movement of a pet is explicitly linked to that of its owner. The Bill will also give the Government powers to introduce regulations to restrict low welfare commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom. We will first use these powers to prohibit the bringing into Great Britain of puppies and kittens under six months old, heavily pregnant dogs and cats and dogs and cats with non-exempted mutilations such as ear cropping, cosmetic tail docking and declawing. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.