Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2013, Official Report, column 207W, on livestock: transport, on which occasions the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency has (a) reported, (b) investigated and (c) prosecuted suspected breaches of welfare.
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Answer
The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) is not the authority responsible for investigating or prosecuting such incidents. AHVLA works with local authority Trading Standards Departments which will, if they deem it appropriate, carry out any investigations and take forward prosecutions. AHVLA has reported four incidents of suspected breaches of welfare by transporters going through the port of Ramsgate to local authorities since 2010 for investigation.