Thank you for contacting me about puppy smuggling.
I would like to assure you that Ministers are committed to cracking down on puppy smuggling and will ban the imports of young or heavily pregnant dogs, as well as dogs with mutilations, such as cropped ears or docked tails. Applying strengthened penalties will send a clear message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated and will enable our courts to take a firmer approach to cases where pets are illegally imported. I understand that the Government plans to take forward legislative measures to tackle puppy smuggling as soon as parliamentary time allows.
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