§ Mr. Adleyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list, by county, the total number of quarantine kennels in the United King- 308W dom; and if he is satisfied that the total is adequate.
§ Mr. StrangThere are 43 quarantine kennels serving England and Wales and seven in Scotland licensed under the provisions of the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974 for imported dogs and cats. My right hon. Friend and I are satisfied that the total is adequate. I understand that the one licensed kennel in Northern Ireland is adequate to meet requirements there.
Details by counties are as follows:—
England and Wales Bedfordshire 2 Berkshire 4 Buckinghamshire 1 Cheshire 1 Devon 1 Essex 5 Gloucestershire 2 Greater London 2 Greater Manchester 1 Hampshire 2 Hertfordshire 1 Kent 4 Lincolnshire 1 Merseyside 1 Norfolk 2 Oxfordshire 1 Somerset 2 staffordshire 1 Suffolk 1 Surrey 2 East Sussex 1 West Sussex 2 Worcestershire 1 North Yorkshire 1 West Yorkshire 1 Total 43 Scotland Fife 2 Grampians 1 Lothian 3 Strathclyde 1 Total 7 Northern Ireland County Down 1
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will detail the powers of (a) the police, (b) Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, (c) officials from his Department and (d) local authority health regulation enforcement officers in apprehending people suspected of contravening the animal quarantine regulations.
§ Mr. StrangUnder the Diseases of Animals Act 1950 the police, or an 309W inspector appointed by the Ministry or a local authority, may detain any person seen or found committing, or reasonably suspected of being engaged in committing, an offence, and if the person fails to give his name and address to the constable's or inspector's satisfaction may apprehend him without warrant and take him before a justice.
Proceedings involving animals subject to rabies legislation are not normally taken by Her Majesty's Customs but by the local authorities on whom enforcement is laid. Customs may, however, bring proceedings against a person who, knowingly and with intent to evade, has contravened the import restrictions; and, where they bring such proceedings, they have power under Section 304 of the Customs and Excise Act 1952 to detain the person concerned.
Powers of arrest under warrant are contained in the Magistrates' Courts Act 1952 and the Criminal Justice Act 1967. In essence, a Justice of the Peace may issue a warrant to arrest a person who has, or is suspected of having, committed an offence provided:
- (a) the offence is indictable or is punishable with imprisonment, or
- (b) the person's address is not sufficiently established for a summons to be served on him.
Offences committed with deliberate intent to contravene the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and other Mammals) Order 1974 are both indictable and punishable with imprisonment.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has held with the police concerning offences against the animal quarantine laws.
§ Mr. StrangRepresentatives of the Associations of Chief Police Officers for all parts of the United Kingdom, together with representatives of the Local Authority Associations, attended a meeting with Ministry officials on 23rd January to discuss all aspects of the implementation of the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and other Mammals) Order 1974. There is constant liaison on these matters between the Ministry and the police.
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§ Ms. Colquhounasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list in the Official Report the EEC regulations concerning rabies and importation of animals into the Community, indicating whether Great Britain is in line with the Community in protection regulations.
§ Mr. StrangI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Renton) on 12th April 1976.—[Vol. 909, c.407–8]
§ Ms. Colquhounasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what precautions are taken to quarantine animals owned by members of the Corps Diplomatique who arrive in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. StrangOur anti-rabies import controls and quarantine regulations apply to British and foreign citizens alike, irrespective of status.
§ Ms. Colquhounasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ban the importation of dogs into the United Kingdom in the light of the possibility of an outbreak of rabies.
§ Mr. StrangSuch a ban would be too drastic. The threat of rabies to this country comes with the illegally imported animal and not with the correctly licensed and quarantined one. Our strict quarantine requirements have stood us in good stead for over 50 years, despite the importation of animals from countries with a far higher incidence of rabies than occurs anywhere in Europe. In any case, if a complete ban were justified because of the rabies risk it could not be confined to dogs.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now invite representatives of the National Yacht Harbour Association to meet him to discuss their concern about the threat which the illegal importation of animals poses in the current effort to prevent an outbreak of rabies in Great Britain.
§ Mr. StrangRepresentatives of the National Yacht Harbour Association will be meeting Ministry officials on 21st May.
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