§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he is satisfied that intending visitors arriving 90W by air, particularly by British airlines, are sufficiently aware of the regulations regarding importation of animals;
(2) what steps he has taken to see that incoming passengers on foreign airlines are warned of anti-rabies regulations; and if any foreign airline has to his knowledge failed to acquaint intending passengers with details of anti-rabies regulations.
§ Mr. StrangOur policy is to give the widest publicity overseas to our animal import regulations. We do this through the embassies and consulates, travel agents arid the media and through British and foreign shipping and airlines. This publicity will be a continuing commitment. In addition, all airlines are required to refuse passage for animals bound for Great Britain unless there is a boarding pass indicating the issue of an import licence and unless the animals are travelling as manifest freight in suitable containers in the aircraft cargo compartment.
We believe that airlines generally make every effort to publicise and comply with our anti-rabies regulations, since carriage of an illegally landed animal may result in prosecution. Four foreign airlines have been successfully prosecuted for failures on their part.
§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consideration has been given to the imposition of penalties on travel organisations which do not fully acquaint intending passengers as to anti-rabies regulations.
§ Mr. StrangWe give both carriers and travel agents the utmost encouragement to publicise the anti-rabies regulations to intending passengers. But it would be inappropriate and impracticable to impose penalties on any travel agent who failed to acquaint a passenger of these regulations. For one thing, an offence of this kind would usually occur abroad before a passenger set out for Britain, and would be outside our jurisdiction. However, penalties can be, and have been, imposed by the courts on both shipping and air lines which have failed to ensure that rabies-susceptible animals being transported to this country were properly licensed.
§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many prosecutions have taken place 91W against airline passengers for violation of anti-rabies regulations; and what information he has regarding the airline on which they were transported to the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. StrangSince the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974 came into operation on 5th February 1975 there have been 12 successful prosecutions taken against airline passengers for violations of our anti-rabies regulations. A total of nine airlines were involved, four of them British.