3. How is the Welsh Government co-operating with UK Government departments and agencies to protect animal welfare by preventing the illegal importation of dogs through Welsh ports? OQ57924

5. Will the Minister make a statement on the impact of illegal puppy smuggling through Welsh ports on animal welfare in Wales? OQ57907

Llywydd, I understand that you've given your permission for questions 3 and 5 to be grouped. 

Yes.

The Welsh Government has been working closely with the UK Government departments on the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. The Bill intends to introduce a series of measures that will discourage the illegal importation of dogs before they reach Welsh ports, measures that have been designed following close consultation with agencies and stakeholders.

Thank you so much, Minister. The UK Conservative Government is seeking views from the public and industry on plans to safeguard the welfare of imported puppies and dogs. The Dogs Trust points out that, currently, only, and I quote,

'a "document and identity" check on imported pets is required by the rules of PETS, this is conducted by ferry and Eurotunnel staff with no expertise in animal welfare. This does not include a requirement to visualise the imported pet.'

Do you agree, Minister, that legislation must introduce a visual check of all animals entering the country via the pet travel scheme, and that the focus of enforcement for the pet travel legislation must be shifted from carriers to Government agencies, with a requrirement for there to be sufficient out-of-hours and weekend cover at ports by these agencies? Thank you. 

I certainly think the UK Government's plan to tackle puppy smuggling doesn't go far enough. I think it will leave the door open for organised criminals to continue to profit from this vile practice. At the moment, as you infer, there's no requirement for ferry or for Eurotunnel staff to see the dogs that are being imported. The Government's got to introduce, I think, visual checks at the border, because I really don't think, without those checks, we'd have any chance of ending this cruel trade. 

Minister, unfortunately, the abhorrent act of puppy smuggling is on the increase due to the extremely high prices that dogs can sell for. One of the major issues causing puppy smuggling is that dogs can be purchased via the internet and collected from someone's home, which opens the opportunity for smuggled puppies to be presented to buyers as having been bred in a healthy environment with high standards of welfare, when, in fact, they've been bred on puppy farms, smuggled in appalling conditions, and simply presented to buyers. This is not only extremely traumatic for the animal in question, but there are wider consequences. These smuggled puppies often need considerable veterinary care, which comes at great expense, and in many cases animals have died not long after being purchased or have lifelong health conditions and in many instances psychological and behavioural issues. This has the knock-on effect that some people are unable to afford to keep these animals and they end up in rehoming centres or simply discarded. 

In light of the significant suffering of puppies caught up in the illegal import trade and the potential disease risks that they pose, it is clear, as has already been mentioned, that existing importation regulations do not provide adequate protection for dogs. Moreover, there needs to be much tighter control of selling of dogs from unlicensed breeders, particularly using the internet. I am certain there would be cross-party support for any proposals for better and more substantial regulation to help stop both the illegal smuggling of all animals and their sale online. So, Minister, in your professional opinion, what possible amendments could be made to existing legislation, both at a devolved level and a UK Government level, that tackles the selling of animals online, and what discussions have you had with the UK Government regarding this? Thank you.

Thank you. The Member raises a very important point. You'll be aware of legislation I brought in at the tail end of last year to ensure that people really think about where they buy their puppies and kittens from, or any dog, to make sure that they meet with the breeder and they see that the breeder is a legal one. We're working very closely with local authorities around the enforcement of this. 

At the moment, my officials are working closely with both the UK Government and the Scottish Government on changes to commercial imports of pet animals, and the aim of that is to deliver it within the new kept animals Bill. One thing we want to see is the minimum age of imported dogs increased—so, to go from 15 weeks to six months. We want to ban the importation of dogs with non-exempted mutilations, prohibit the importation and non-commercial movement of a bitch that is more than 42 days pregnant—provisions that are to be supported by a really robust enforcement system. As I say, we're now in the third year of a three-year programme, working with our local authorities to ensure that enforcement is far more robust, and that does include both civil and criminal sanctions.

Whilst we can make regulations about the buying and selling of dogs, unless there is a paper trail—or more correctly today, an electronic trail—it will always be open to abuse. Does the Minister agree with me that a good first step would be to bring back dog licences and keep a record of dogs, their buyers and their sellers?

You and I are both old enough, Mike, to remember dog licences. I think there are quite a few people in the Chamber who probably don't remember them. I remember, when I first came into post, asking why we wouldn't have dog licences back. But I have been persuaded that there are a lot more things that we can do. There are more important and more worthwhile things to make sure that we have a better system—so, compulsory microchipping, for instance; the border controls that we have on imports, and you've just heard me say in previous answers how we can improve that; regulation on the sales of puppies and kittens that we introduced last year, which I know you were very keen to see brought forward; and those enhancements to strengthen enforcement within our local authorities. 

Dog licensing was actually abolished in 1988, and I did think, when I looked back at the system and the briefing I had, it was probably quite unmanageable and it was very expensive. So, I do hope that the range of measures that we have brought in do increase the traceability of dogs and puppies, particularly the ones I outlined.