To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to outline (i) what; and (ii) where quarantine facilities will be provided for pets arriving into NI that do not comply with the Travelling with Pets criteria from 1 July 2021; (iii) what animal welfare standards are used to measure the effectiveness of any quarantine facility; and (iv) what will be the cost to pet owners for their pet while it is in quarantine.

Inspection and temporary holding facilities are present at Larne Port, Belfast Port, Belfast International Airport and Belfast City Airport. Any animals requiring official quarantine are currently held at Breeny Boarding and Quarantine Kennels, 35 Lisnabreeny Road, Belfast, BT6 9SD. These kennels are commercially operated and function as a DAERA approved quarantine and boarding facility.

The Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and other Mammals) Order 1977 (as amended) provides that no premises shall be used as quarantine facilities, unless authorised by the Department. The Departmental authorisation would contain conditions to ensure rabies control and also minimum welfare standards such as:

Animal units must be designed and constructed so as to receive a reasonable amount of daylight.

Artificial lighting must be sufficient to allow the proper cleansing of units and the safe handling of animals at all times.

Suitable provision must be made in all buildings housing animals to allow an adequate and constant supply of fresh air, heating and to ensure fresh drinking water is available.

There is no cost to pet owners for the initial inspection and temporary holding facilities operated by DAERA at Northern Ireland (NI) points of entry. The costs incurred by pet owners subsequently required to use Breeny Boarding Quarantine Kennels would be a private matter between the pet owners and the quarantine premises. The cost would also be dependent on the duration of the quarantine and size of animal. Animals would ordinarily have to stay until the correct documentation / evidence of compliance were produced, or for a maximum of three months to be compliant. Breeny’s current standard boarding rates are £18 per day for a dog and £10 per day for a cat.

I announced earlier this year that my Department would not introduce checks on these requirements until 1 July 2021, however, in order to provide much needed clarity, I have taken the decision to further delay routine pet travel checks for citizens travelling from GB to NI with their pets until at least 1 October. This is to allow a further period for the ongoing UKG/EU discussions, where pet travel is under consideration, to provide direction on both the requirements necessary and any potential flexibilities. This delay will also allow time for my Department to further publicise, and the public to prepare for, the pet travel conditions that are ultimately agreed.

Whilst the Department will not be conducting routine checks during this period, it is important to note that my officials reserve the right to carry out checks if they suspect illegal activity or have welfare concerns.

It is my hope however that sensible and pragmatic solutions can be found and I will continue engagement with Ministerial colleagues to urgently seek derogations where possible from these unnecessary additional requirements.

Any progress made or flexibilities agreed in respect of the additional requirements, along with any changes to the current enforcement approach will be published on the DAERA website https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/travelling-pets and on the DAERA Frequently Asked Questions document https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/qas-pet-travel-1-january-2021 and communicated widely through our usual Departmental media channels.