§ Mr. Hendry:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions have been made regarding the illegal importation of meat identified by Customs and Excise sniffer dogs in the last five years; and how many of those have resulted in successful convictions. [131693]
§ John Healey:HM Customs and Excise took over responsibility for anti-smuggling controls on products of animal origin from Defra on 11 April 2003. The two Defra meat detector dogs and handlers transferred to HM Customs and Excise on 1 May.
None of Customs' seizures of illegal meat since 11 April have resulted in prosecution action.