This information is not held centrally by the Government.

Imports and direct landings of fish into the UK are required to be accompanied by catch certificates. This ensures traceability throughout the supply chain to mitigate the risk of the fish having been derived from illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing.

The UK has powers to apply import restrictions to countries identified as non-cooperative in tackling IUU fishing. At present, the UK does not permit the import of fishery products from Comoros, Cambodia or Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Import restrictions can also be implemented at vessel level. Any vessel that has been identified as associated with IUU fishing activities, can be placed on the UK’s IUU Vessel List meaning it is not eligible to import fishery products into the UK. Advice and guidance for importers of fish and fisheries products is available on GOV.UK.

The nominal value of seafood goods, mainly shrimps & prawns, and skipjack tuna, imported from Thailand was £64m in 2019, £50m in 2020, £40m in 2021, £37m in 2022 and £36m last year.

In order to export meat to Great Britain, GB import conditions must be met. For food products, this includes a requirement for exporting countries to regulate the use of veterinary medicines

Fluroquinolones are permitted for use in meat production, both domestically and in imported meat products. However, withdrawal periods prior to slaughter must be adhered to, as well as residue levels, the maximum limits of which are the same for both domestic and imported meat.

In order to export meat to Great Britain, GB import conditions must be met. For food products, this includes a requirement for exporting countries to regulate the use of veterinary medicines.

Fluroquinolones are permitted for use in meat production, both domestically and in imported meat products. However, withdrawal periods prior to slaughter must be adhered to, as well as residue levels, the maximum limits of which are the same for both domestic and imported meat.

Data specifically on the import of canine semen is not available. This is because there is a commodity code on the trade systems, TRACES or the Import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS), for semen and embryos but canine semen is recorded under ‘other species’ in this code.

Data specifically on the import of canine semen is not available. This is because there is a commodity code on the trade systems, TRACES or the Import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS), for semen and embryos but canine semen is recorded under ‘other species’ in this code.

On 8 March 2022, the UK announced it would ban the import of all Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022. Legislation was passed on 3 November to implement the ban which will come into effect from 5 December. A parallel Maritime Services ban will apply from 5 December for crude oil and 5 February for refined oil products. Since the announcement of the ban, the industry has been self-sanctioning to move away from Russian oil and products.

Provisional data shows in the three months to September 2022, the UK imported 0.1 per cent of gross oil supply (production + imports) from Russia, down from 4.4% in the same period in 2021. Of these imports all were products, the UK did not import crude oil from Russia in the three months to September 2022.

Source: Energy Trends.

The Government shares the British public’s high regard for animal welfare. We are taking forward an ambitious programme of reforms which will maintain our world leading position on animal welfare.

All imports of meat must come from animals that have been subject to humane slaughter methods and some animal products cannot be imported into the UK. This includes cat and dog fur, and seal products which are not covered by specific limited exemptions.

In tonnage terms, imported pigmeat accounted for 53% of UK supply in 2020. For beef and veal the equivalent figure was 29%, for poultrymeat 24% and for mutton and lamb 28%. Imports of meat in composite products such as ready meals are not accounted for. UK supply excludes home production that is exported.

My Department is closely monitoring the sector, with Other Government Departments. Shipping costs during 2021 have risen to a global high level in international freight markets as a result of unprecedented levels of demand driven by changed consumer behaviour during the pandemic.

Historical trends in the shipping sector shows pricing responds to supply and demand. Although industry estimates that high levels of demand and pricing are likely to continue throughout 2021, it is expected that pricing levels should similarly re-adjust when the current demand drivers change.

This year 31 containers of waste have arrived back in England. The containers, which were shipped to Sri Lanka in 2017, were found by the Sri Lankan authorities to contain waste described as mattresses and carpets exported for recycling. This is part of a shipment totalling 263 containers all of which are due to be returned to England soon.

Despite media reports suggesting that medical waste was illegally shipped from England to Sri Lanka, the Environment Agency (EA) as the competent authority for waste shipments for England, has not received any indication or evidence from the Sri Lankan authorities to corroborate those reports. Unless or until the EA receive such evidence to the contrary or come across it, it is the view of the EA that these media reports are incorrect and misleading.

The Government’s policy is to agree a deal with the EU in which case the UK will enter an implementation period. During this time, EU law will continue to apply whilst the Future Economic Partnership is negotiated. Longer term policy on plant protection will depend on the outcome of those negotiations.

At the point of departure from the EU in a no deal scenario, the UK will retain current EU maximum residue levels (MRLs) for pesticides in UK law, along with the existing regulatory processes for determining whether any new UK MRLs should be set.

Oxytetracycline and streptomycin are not approved as active substances for use in the EU and no food, irrespective of its origin, is permitted to have residues at levels consistent with use of the substances. This applies to all food placed on the market, including imports. This will remain the position under UK law unless revised UK MRLs are requested and found to meet all the legal requirements. These requirements include demonstrating, on the basis of scientific data, that the proposed MRL does not put consumers’ health at risk.

The ban on cat and dog fur as introduced by EU Regulation No 1523/2007 will be rolled over as part of the Withdrawal Bill.

The Government has no plans to remove this ban once we leave the EU.

The sale and possession of wild birds native within the EU is prohibited by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Furthermore, EU regulation 139/2013 limits imports of birds from outside the EU, to only those which have been bred in captivity. This was originally put in place for bird health reasons but has wider implications for the trade and importation of birds.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to which the UK is a signatory, protects endangered species by ensuring trade is environmentally sustainable. CITES is one of the key mechanisms through which the UK Government acts to protect endangered species of plants and animals, including birds.

Given the strength of the legislation already in place to control the trade and importation of wild birds there are no plans to regulate the trade further.

Defra takes the threat to public and animal health posed by animals entering the United Kingdom seriously and requires appropriate rabies vaccination for pet animals (cats, dogs and ferrets) entering the country, as well as other high risk species entering zoos or pets destined for the pet trade.

Pet travel between EU Member States and from some lower risk third countries requires a rabies vaccination followed by a 21 day waiting period. For third countries with higher rabies risk stricter rules apply involving a rabies titration test and waiting period. A quantitative risk assessment was carried out in 2011. They assessed the risk of a pet animal with rabies entering the UK under the EU pet travel rules as very low.

Defra has no plans to amend the rabies controls for pet animals, rabies susceptible species for zoos or the pet trade entering the United Kingdom but continues to monitor the disease situation and will undertake a further, formal risk assessment if the evidence indicates that one is warranted.

We have some of the highest standards of animal welfare and the production of foie gras by force feeding is banned in the UK as it is incompatible with our domestic legislation. However, foie gras is produced in some EU member states. Once we leave the European Union, it will be open to government to review the approach to foie gras imports and sales in the UK.

The Government shares the British public’s high regard for animal welfare. The UK continues to support higher animal welfare standards worldwide as the best way of phasing out cruel and inhumane fur farming and trapping practices that are banned here.

When we leave the EU we will retain all current EU regulations banning imports of cat and dog fur and of seal products from commercial hunts, as well as controls on products from endangered species and from inhumane trapping. It will be open to governments in future, once the UK has left the EU, to consider whether they wish to go further than current EU arrangements.

The issue of the release of protected animals from the controls of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 is set out in section 17a of the Act.

A protected animal must not be released unless the Secretary of State has consented and is satisfied:

That the animal's state of health allows it to be set free or re-homed;

that the setting free or re-homing of the animal poses no danger to public health, animal health or the environment;

that there is an adequate scheme in place for ensuring the socialisation of the animal upon being set free or re-homed; and

that other appropriate measures have been taken to safeguard the animal's wellbeing upon being set free or re-homed.

The Secretary of State must not consent to the setting free of a relevant protected animal which has been taken from the wild unless the Secretary of State is also satisfied that the animal has undergone a programme of rehabilitation or that it would be inappropriate for the animal to be required to undergo such a programme.

This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost because of the amount of staff time it would require for the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency to extract this information from its licensing database. For example, in 2013 there were a total of 22,143 applications to import, export or re-export CITES Annex A species covering 1,217 different species.

The CITES Secretariat publishes a trade database that currently holds 7 million records of trade in wildlife and 50,000 scientific names of taxa listed by CITES. The database can be accessed at:

www.cites.org/eng/resources/trade.shtml