Written questions by Rosindell.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage retailers to improve labelling of products that are toxic to pets.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, owners and keepers of animals are responsible for ensuring their animals are provided with a suitable diet, and for protecting them from pain, suffering, injury, and illness. Animal welfare organisations offer advice on how to keep pets safe from accidental poisoning and what to do if someone suspects their pet may have been poisoned.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with her international counterparts on raising animal welfare standards within (a) zoos and (b) aquariums internationally.

While the UK has a wider programme of international engagement on animal welfare, there have been no recent discussions with international counterparts on raising animal welfare standards within zoos or aquariums specifically.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken with relevant authorities to reduce light pollution in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.

Defra has not had direct discussions with local authorities in Romford or elsewhere about monitoring levels of artificial light The statutory nuisance regime requires local authorities to take reasonably practicable steps to investigate complaints of artificial light emitted from premises.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken with relevant authorities to reduce aviation noise pollution in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.

The Government is committed to ensuring that noise is managed effectively to promote good health and minimise disruption to people’s quality of life. Defra is required to produce, consult and publish Noise Action Plans for transport noise, under the terms of the Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006, every five years to help manage noise. Under the Regulations airport operators are the competent authority for preparing airport Noise Action Plans. The latest Round of Airport Noise Action Plans were published in October and November 2024 by 15 Airports including London City Airport and Stansted Airport. It is up to individual airports to determine, including through public consultation, the most effective measures to implement within an action plan. Defra has worked with the Department for Transport which commissioned the Civil Aviation Authority to conduct a critical review of the efficiency and effectiveness of Noise Action Plans, for 10 Airports in the UK and Europe, in managing aviation noise around airports. The recommendations along with the final report are expected to be published in April 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce legislation to ban the sale of bagged peat compost.

I refer the hon. Member to the response given to PQ 4272 on 12 September 2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for banning the trade of primates as pets in the UK.

The Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2024 was signed into law on 5 March 2024 and will prohibit the keeping of primates as pets in England without a specialist license, improving the welfare of potentially thousands of animals. The legislation sets strict rules to ensure that only private keepers who can provide zoo-level welfare standards will be able to keep primates and will come into force on 6 April 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing labelling on animal products that will inform consumers of (a) how that animal was kept and (b) how that animal was killed.

The Government recognises the strong public interest in clearer animal welfare information on the food they buy. A consultation on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling, was undertaken by the previous Government. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce legislation to ban the commercial movement of pregnant dogs.

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 that are abused by unscrupulous traders and give the government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to the United Kingdom. We will use these powers to prohibit the bringing into Great Britain of heavily pregnant dogs and cats. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will amend the law on dangerous dogs attacking cats to hold owners responsible.

It is an offence under section 3(1) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to allow a dog to be dangerously out of control. Any dog that is dangerously out of control can be euthanised and their owners put in prison for up to 14 years and be banned from ever owning a dog.  The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance indicates dog attacks on other animals may amount to a dog being dangerously out of control, not least because of the risk to its owner should they seek to intervene in the attack on their animal.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the importation of deliberately mutilated cats.

The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by the hon. Member for Winchester. The Bill will give the Government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to the United Kingdom. We will use these powers to prohibit the import of puppies and kittens under six months old, dogs and cats which have been subject to non-exempted mutilations such as cropped ears, docked tails and declawing, and heavily pregnant dogs and cats. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to restrict the sale of cats online.

Defra endorses the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) to combat growing concerns regarding the irresponsible advertising of pets for sale, rehoming, and exchange. PAAG has been engaging with online marketplaces in the UK to help them distinguish appropriate adverts from those that should be removed. Defra has also backed a set of Advertising Standards developed by PAAG, which several of the UK’s largest classified websites have agreed to meet.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to increase the age from which puppies can be imported to six months.

The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by the hon. Member for Winchester. The Bill will give the Government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to the United Kingdom. We will use these powers to prohibit the import of puppies and kittens under six months old, dogs and cats which have been subject to non-exempted mutilations such as cropped ears, docked tails and declawing, and heavily pregnant dogs and cats. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the (a) importation and (b) sale of dogs with (i) cropped ears and (ii) docked tails for cosmetic reasons.

The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by the hon. Member for Winchester. The Bill will give the Government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to the United Kingdom. We will use these powers to prohibit the import of puppies and kittens under six months old, dogs and cats which have been subject to non-exempted mutilations such as cropped ears, docked tails and declawing, and heavily pregnant dogs and cats. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make it a criminal offence to (a) intentionally or (b) recklessly (i) disturb or (ii) harass seals.

Defra’s Marine and Coastal Wildlife Code for England provides advice and guidance to help people visit the coast responsibly and minimise disturbance to marine wildlife, including seals.We continue to consider the evidence for legislative change. This includes the proposals submitted by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to the previous Government for amending the lists of species afforded protection by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, including seals.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to publish a national beaver reintroduction strategy.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra will continue to work with Natural England to develop our approach to beaver reintroductions and management in England. Further information on this will be published in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to reduce instances of fly-tipping in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.

Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders such as local councils and the Environment Agency to promote good practice on preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools, including case studies and ‘how to’ guides on key issues such as setting up effective local partnerships, are available from their webpage which is available at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group. We will continue to work with the NFTPG to expand upon these materials.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to introduce a vaccination programme for avian influenza.

The vaccination of poultry and captive birds excluding those in licensed zoos in England against avian influenza is not currently permitted. However, Defra continue to invest in avian influenza research, and we continue to monitor the current situation and vaccine usage both in Europe and globally, as well as the effectiveness of any disease control measures taken, including vaccine development. While avian influenza vaccination will not be a viable option for the 24/25 high risk season, Defra have established a cross-government and industry task force to explore potential for use of vaccination as a preventive measure for avian influenza. The taskforce is due to publish an initial report in late spring and will be issuing a statement shortly to update on its work and the latest situation. Details of Defra’s approach and rational regarding avian influenza vaccination have been published here .

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote tree coverage in (a) the borough of Havering and (b) England.

The Government is working towards the statutory target to reach 16.5% tree canopy and woodland cover in England by 2050. Defra is funding a significant package of grants and supporting activity across England to increase tree coverage. This includes funding a national network of fifteen Community Forests. These Forests are planting thousands of hectares of new trees and woodland in and around our towns and cities providing social, economic and environmental transformation. The Thames Chase Community Forest is one of this network with tree planting sites in Havering.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to stop the accidental poisoning of wildlife.

Defra itself is a principal funder of the National Wildlife Crime Unit which helps prevent and detect unlawful poisoning. Defra also provides funding for England’s Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme which determines the underlying cause of death of wildlife where illegal use of rodenticides is suspected. To help ensure wildlife is not accidentally poisoned, Defra would advise anyone managing rodents to consider a range of effective, alternative methods to rodenticides including elimination of harbourage, food and water. Spring traps and live capture traps are also inexpensive, reusable and widely available.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the prevention of illegal rhino poaching.

The UK has strict border controls in place to detect and prevent illegal imports. In 2022, Border Force seized two separate imports of rhino horn originating from China and South Africa. The UK’s National Wildlife Crime Unit also plays a critical role in preventing wildlife crime, including through intelligence work, threat analysis, and by directly assisting law enforcement. Through our Biodiverse Landscape Fund we are working directly with partner Governments in the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, including rhino poaching. We are also investing £30 million between 2022 and 2025 to tackle IWT globally, including through our Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.