“(1) Dogs with cropped ears may not be sold in England.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the rehoming of rescue dogs by official rehoming organisations.”—

This new clause would prohibit the sale of dogs with cropped ears in the England.

Brought up, and read the First time.

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

The new clause would ban the sale of dogs with cropped ears, although obviously not if they have been rehomed by official rescue organisations. We have been over the issue during our debates, but this new clause is about the sale of such dogs, rather than their transportation into the country. Let us see what the Minister has to say.

The mutilation of dogs’ ears has been banned in the UK for some time, but there is currently no ban on imports, so as we heard in evidence, sadly the numbers continue to rise. The Bill includes an enabling power that will allow us to restrict such imports on welfare grounds via secondary legislation. We recently consulted widely on the issue and received 14,000 responses, of which we will publish a summary early next year. We are also working closely with the devolved Administrations on the matter.

In summary, we already have the powers to take action, and we are working through the process of doing so. I therefore ask for the new clause to be withdrawn.

As I said earlier, this practice has increased by 621%, which is obviously concerning. I hear what the Ministers says, and although a ban on sales would be welcome, we will not push the new clause to a vote.

I beg to ask leave to withdraw the clause.

Clause, by leave, withdrawn.