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PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(6 January 2026)

Question Asked

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to speed up the processing of (a) equines and (b) equine semen at border control points.

Asked by:
Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat)

Answer

To protect GB biosecurity, official import controls are undertaken at Border Control Posts (BCP) on consignments of equine semen from all countries and equines from countries other than EU and EFTA. Import controls on equines from EU and EFTA countries take place at destination. Regular APHA audits of these import controls ensures that they are completed in an effective, considerate of animal welfare and timely manner.

In recognition of the logistical challenges associated with the importation and official import controls at a Border Control Post (BCP), specifically chilled equine semen, a facilitation scheme was introduced by Defra and has been operating for the 2024 and 2025 breeding seasons allowing unimpeded movement of these consignments through the BCP.


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