Illegal Animal Product Import Biosecurity Risks

#42 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Diseases do not recognise borders. Enhancing biosecurity protects animal, plant and human health. Although we have full faith in the Chief Veterinary Officer, it would be easier to monitor animal diseases in our closest neighbours if the UK regained access …

Report: Government response published

#25 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Government must ensure border control posts capable of processing live animals are operational by March 2022. This date is an absolute deadline rather than a target. These posts should be geographically spread around the country and provide appropriate capacity …

Report: Government response published

#19 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: We have been told that there are horses being illicitly moved across Britain’s borders and being sent to slaughter under the guise of being sold for other purposes.

Report: Government response published

#2 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: We welcome the Government’s commitment to ban the import of pets younger than six-months-old, heavily pregnant pets, and pets that have been subject to poor animal welfare practices. We recognise the argument that ministers should be able to adapt regulations …

Report: Government response published

#21 — Illegally imported and rehomed stray dogs pose significant biosecurity risks for pets and humans.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The movement of illegally imported dogs into the UK, and the importation of stray dogs for rehoming, pose considerable biosecurity risks for both pets and humans. Diseases such as rabies, leishmaniasis and Brucella canis may be imported into the UK …

Report: Government response published

#25 — Repurpose Bastion Point to support enforcement, improve worker safety, and upgrade port facilities.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra should work with DPHA to consider how the space available at its Bastion Point site could be repurposed to support with enforcement activities and relieve pressure at the port. Defra should conduct a cost- benefit analysis of repurposing Bastion …

Report: Government response published

#24 — Port of Dover facilities are unsuitable for seizing high volumes of contaminated meat.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The space and facilities at the Port of Dover are not suitable for seizing high volumes of potentially contaminated meat. Defra needs to think creatively about how it can tackle this unprecedented challenge at the Short Straits, rather than being …

Report: Government response published

#23 — Provide emergency funding to double DPHA's operational coverage and reinstate official veterinarians.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Committee has recommended that POAO enforcement powers and funding be transferred to port health authorities; in any interim period, emergency funding should be provided to at least double DPHA’s operational coverage at the border and should allow for the …

Report: Government response published

#22 — Insufficient DPHA operational coverage and defunded vets undermine biosecurity at Dover.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: In the absence of an effective deterrent for meat smuggling and within the context of high rates of non-compliance with import rules, 20% operational coverage for DPHA’s anti-meat smuggling operations is insufficient. Defra’s decision to cease funding for official veterinarians …

Report: Government response published

#21 — Require Government to lead effective mutual restoration of Defra and DPHA relationship.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: This Government must lead an effective, mutual restoration of that relationship, which is of strategic importance to the UK’s security and trade. (Recommendation, Paragraph 60)

Report: Government response published

#20 — Unacceptable breakdown of trust between Defra and DPHA harmed national biosecurity.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Under the previous Government, there was an unacceptable breakdown of trust, communication and cooperation in the relationship between Defra and Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) to the detriment of national biosecurity. (Conclusion, Paragraph 60)

Report: Government response published

#19 — Require Defra to implement a plan for fining and prosecuting repeat animal product smugglers.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra must deliver a plan to immediately start fining and prosecuting repeat offenders and those who are attempting to smuggle significant amounts of animal products. (Recommendation, Paragraph 46) The Port of Dover

Report: Government response published

#18 — No effective deterrent exists for meat smuggling, allowing smugglers to operate with impunity.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: There is currently no effective deterrent to meat smuggling and smugglers are operating with impunity as a result. Defra’s proposal to crush vans carrying illegal imports is not a silver bullet for this issue and may be challenging to practically …

Report: Government response published

#17 — Grant port health authorities stop, search, seize powers and funding for animal product border enforcement.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Port health authorities should be given stop, search and seize powers in relation to animal products and funding for enforcement presence at the border in relation to personal imports for the EU and rest of world. With the introduction of …

Report: Government response published

#16 — Border Force inadequately enforces personal import rules, lacking POAO understanding and focused teams.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Border Force is not adequately fulfilling its responsibility to enforce personal import rules relating to animal products; it has too many competing priorities and officers lack understanding of product of animal origin (POAO) rules and seizures. Border Force and port …

Report: Government response published

#15 — Integrate local authorities into formal intelligence networks and review their POAO smuggling workforce needs.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Local authorities should be integrated into formal information sharing and intelligence networks. The illegal imports taskforce should review the workforce needs of local authorities in relation to POAO smuggling. The taskforce should consider whether regional expert contacts would be an …

Report: Government response published

#14 — Local authorities are overlooked and under-supported in tackling illegal POAO imports.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Local authorities are a key partner in tackling illegal POAO imports but are being overlooked and under supported by Defra. (Conclusion, Paragraph 44)

Report: Government response published

#13 — Establish a taskforce for illegal imports of animal products, led by the Minister for Biosecurity.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: A taskforce for illegal imports of animal products should be established by November 2025, led by the Minister for Biosecurity, to provide oversight of the strategy’s design and implementation and to drive improvements. The taskforce should at least include the …

Report: Government response published

#12 — Responsibility for tackling illegal meat imports is fragmented, lacking clear ownership and leadership.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: There is currently no identifiable or effective ownership of the issue of illegal meat imports. Responsibility is so fragmented across agencies that outdated, inefficient ways of working have been allowed to persist and the scale of the crisis has been …

Report: Government response published

#11 — Create a collaborative strategy for POAO smuggling and establish formal information sharing mechanisms.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: By January 2026, Defra should create a strategy for POAO smuggling in collaboration with the National Food Crime Unit (FSA), the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (FSS), port health authorities, inland local authorities and Border Force. To be effective, …

Report: Government response published

#10 — Defra lacks comprehensive strategy and convincing plan to prevent animal diseases and tackle POAO smuggling.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Committee supports the Government’s commitment to “do whatever it takes to protect British farmers from foot and mouth”. The Committee welcomes efforts made so far, but concludes that there is more that Defra 36 could and should be doing …

Report: Government response published

#9 — Design a strategy to reduce demand for illegally imported products and engage communities.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra should work with the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland to design a strategy to reduce demand for illegally imported products. Defra must further consider how to engage with Eastern European communities in Great Britain to raise awareness …

Report: Government response published

#8 — Demand for specific products fuels illegal animal product imports into Great Britain.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Demand for cheap meat and culturally preferred products is fuelling the influx of illegal imports to Great Britain. (Conclusion, Paragraph 30)

Report: Government response published

#7 — Consult on and introduce a permanent, straightforward personal import policy for EU products.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra must consult on a permanent personal import policy for the EU by April 2026. It should prioritise safeguarding British farms and should be straightforward enough to be understood by travellers and to be enforced. The current temporary ban on …

Report: Government response published

#6 — Defra's approach to EU personal imports has been lax, reactive, and complicated.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Under successive governments, Defra’s approach to personal imports from the EU since 2021 has been unnecessarily lax, too reactive and overly complicated. Temporary personal import rules create confusion for travellers, uncertainty for farmers, and difficulty for enforcement professionals. (Conclusion, Paragraph …

Report: Government response published

#5 — Compel travel operators and scale up Defra communications including a digital import tool.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Travel operators should be legally compelled to inform travellers of the rules for personal imports from the EU into GB. Defra must immediately scale up its communications to the public about personal import rules and reach a much broader audience. …

Report: Government response published

#4 — Public awareness of new EU personal import restrictions remains insufficient.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra’s ban on personal imports of most animal products from the EU, introduced in April 2025, is a welcome simplification and strengthening of the rules. However, there is not yet enough public awareness of the restrictions or the reasons for …

Report: Government response published

#3 — Commission risk assessment and publish quarterly data on illegal animal product imports.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra should commission a risk assessment of the type published by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in 2004 for the import of contaminated meat and meat products into Great Britain and subsequent exposure of livestock. It should model the probable amount …

Report: Government response published

#2 — Greater understanding and transparency needed on illegal animal product imports.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Consumers deserve confidence that the food they are buying is safe and meets high welfare standards, and British farmers should not be undercut by cheap, poor quality animal products. We need to understand more about the nature and scale of …

Report: Government response published

#1 — Animal diseases pose a national security risk and threaten farmer wellbeing.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Animal disease threats like foot and mouth disease and African swine fever are a national security issue and must be understood as such across Government. Although it is not possible to prevent all contaminated animal products entering Great Britain, the …

Report: Government response published

#21 — Adopt hybrid BCP/PoD plant inspection model and share biosecurity protocols for inland BCPs.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Government should adopt the Horticultural Trades Association’s proposal for a hybrid inspection model, combining BCP and PoD approaches. Following a short consultation with industry, the Government should designate specific consignments eligible for PoD inspections. Additionally, APHA should share with …

Report: Government response published

#20 — Dissatisfaction with inland BCP plant checks persists; PoD inspections could improve system efficiency.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Industry has expressed dissatisfaction with the current system of SPS checks on plants and plant products conducted at inland Border Control Posts (BCPs), citing concerns around value for money, inspection standards, and biosecurity. While a future SPS agreement with the …

Report: Government response published

#15 — Confirm real-time IPAFFS access for local authorities and publish digital interoperability roadmap.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: In response to this Report, Defra should confirm it is taking steps to provide local authorities with real-time access to IPAFFS to support enforcement and traceability of consignments. Until the UK gains full access to EU systems, IPAFFS should be …

Report: Government response published

#14 — IPAFFS must ensure full interoperability with EU and local systems for border biosecurity.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Until a Common SPS Area is formally established, IPAFFS will remain the UK’s primary digital system for managing border biosecurity. It must therefore be capable of meeting the operational needs of all users and enforcement bodies, including importers, port health …

Report: Government response published

#13 — Set out strategic objectives for shared EU-UK digital border biosecurity systems, clarifying IPAFFS adoption.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: In response to this Report, the Government should set out its strategic objectives for shared EU–UK digital systems in the context of border biosecurity. Specifically, it should clarify whether IPAFFS will be retired in favour of adopting TRACES NT, or …

Report: Government response published

#12 — Government's practical implementation strategy for EU biosecurity Common Understanding remains unclear.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Common Understanding with the EU presents a positive and welcome opportunity to bolster UK biosecurity and we praise the Government for its work in this regard. It remains unclear, however, how the Government sees the new arrangements working in …

Report: Government response published

#9 — Serious concerns persist regarding the functionality and reliability of border biosecurity IT systems.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Throughout our inquiry, we heard repeated and serious concerns about the functionality, integration, and reliability of the IT systems underpinning the UK’s border biosecurity regime. As enforcement relies on data, these concerns raise fundamental questions about the Government’s ability to …

Report: Government response published

#7 — Enforcement system at Short Straits remains flawed, creating vulnerabilities for illegal entry.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra maintains that a “robust” enforcement system is in operation at the Short Straits entry point. Within the context of flawed IT systems, data gaps, routine auto-clearance of goods and strained local authorities, the Committee does not share that confidence. …

Report: Government response published

#6 — Require Defra to provide risk assessment models and underlying data for SPS inspection rates.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra should, in response to this Report, provide us with the risk-based assessment models and underlying data used to determine SPS inspection rates. Publicly available models will enhance transparency, allow for independent scrutiny, and help rebuild stakeholder confidence in the …

Report: Government response published

#3 — Varying inspection rates at different ports enable gaming of the biosecurity system.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Varying inspection rates at different ports of entry has created a system that can be gamed by those seeking to dodge costs or import illegal goods and may even introduce “temptation” for legitimate importers who witness their consignments auto-clear important …

Report: Government response published

#1 — Defra fails to effectively implement Border Target Operating Model and meet inspection targets.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: While assessments of the effectiveness of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) in safeguarding UK biosecurity vary, and regardless of whether full or partial implementation would be sufficient in principle, Defra and the relevant authorities have not fulfilled their responsibilities …

Report: Government response published

#31 — Publish revised methodology and survey plan for measuring public awareness of personal import rules.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Given the reliance on public awareness for compliance with rules for personal imports from the EU, the Government should ensure its measure of this is as reliable as possible. In response to this report the Government should provide us with …

Report: Government response published

#30 — Mandate EU transport operators inform travellers of UK personal import rules by January 2027 deadline.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Regardless of SPS negotiation timings, the Government must not delay the implementation of the requirement for EU transport operators to draw travellers’ attention to UK rules on personal imports of products of animal origin beyond 31 January 2027. (Recommendation, Paragraph …

Report: Government response published

#29 — Public awareness of personal import rules is overestimated and survey methods are inadequate.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Relying on the goodwill of EU travel operators to communicate personal import rules is not an acceptable approach. Defra has acknowledged that its current survey methods make it difficult to assess public awareness of personal import restrictions, and it has …

Report: Government response published

#27 — Minister's commitment to reestablish cross-ministerial working group on borders is welcomed

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: We welcome the Minister’s commitment to reestablish the cross-ministerial working group on borders, recognising the importance of coordinated oversight of biosecurity risks and border operations. (Conclusion, Paragraph 74)

Report: Government response published

#26 — Develop strategy by June 2026 to reduce demand for illegally imported animal products

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Defra must not wait until SPS negotiations are concluded before developing a strategy to reduce demand for illegally imported animal products. We reiterate the recommendation made in our previous report on this topic that the Government, by June 2026, should …

Report: Government response published

#25 — SPS agreement lacks mechanisms to prevent criminal activity from illegal meat imports

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Both the EU and the UK are exposed to biosecurity risks from illegal meat imports. Although future access to EU data systems and intelligence within a common SPS area could support British border enforcement efforts, there is nothing within an …

Report: Government response published

#24 — Ensure Great Britain maintains robust risk-based controls against serious plant and animal diseases

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Government must ensure that Great Britain is able to maintain risk- based controls to protect against serious plant and animal disease threats. This includes the continuation of robust import controls on plants that can host the bacterial disease caused …

Report: Government response published

#23 — Great Britain must retain ability to apply robust biosecurity measures against European diseases

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Maintaining Great Britain’s biosecurity is vital. Britain’s geography provides natural protection from many plant and animal health threats. Any future SPS agreement will require adjustments to existing border controls, but it remains essential that GB retains the ability to apply …

Report: Government response published

#22 — BTOM provides effective risk-based framework for UK border biosecurity, demonstrating tangible improvements

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The UK’s Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) provides a risk-based framework for managing biosecurity threats at the UK border. Our scrutiny and Government action has contributed to tangible improvements in responsiveness, as demonstrated by the swift and effective action taken …

Report: Government response published