brown short coated dog lying on green metal cage — Photo by Ayla Verschueren on Unsplash

New data shared by a government department, has revealed a dramatic fall in commercial animal imports into the UK over the last five years.

Data published by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), has shown that the number of dogs being brought into the UK has decreased by over 65% since 2020, hitting its peak in 2021 during the height of the pandemic, before rapidly reducing the following year.

According to the APHA, 78,299 dogs were commercially imported to Britain in 2021, which was an increase of 11,000 over the previous year’s total. However in 2022 the number fell drastically down to 44,151, and has since decreased further down to 22,145 as of September 2025.

The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) defines the commercial importation of animals as:

The movement of groups of more than 5 cats, dogs or ferrets
The movement of cats, dogs and ferrets involving a change of ownership and/or for rehoming, including rescue animals
Pet animals that are unable to fulfil the requirement of the pet travel regulation for travelling within 5 days of their owner or owner’s representative

The significant reduction in the number of dogs coming to Britain has been attributed to a number of measures put in place in 2022, when the government temporarily suspended all commercial dog imports of dogs, cats, and ferrets from Belarus, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine from April until October of the same year.

The restrictions were put in place on advice from DEFRA’s Animal Disease Policy Group (ADPG), who raised concerns over the zoonotic disease, Brucella canis, which is a bacterial infection that can cause infertility in dogs, but can also be spread to humans.

In October 2022, the government lifted the ban, but introduced new rules for the commercial importing of dogs, which has placed heavier restrictions on the type of dog that can be imported, and the tests that it must undergo before coming to Britain.

APHA data from the last three years shows that after imports resumed, Romania has become the single largest commercial importer of dogs to the UK, totalling over 32,000 canines over that period, despite the additional tests and approved importer status rules that were enforced from October 2022.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said:

“Bringing a dog from overseas carries increased animal health and welfare risks, including the potential spread of serious diseases like Brucella canis.

“The Approved Importer Scheme introduced additional requirements for commercial imports of dogs, cats and ferrets that come from higher risk countries.

“We would urge prospective owners to consider rehoming from a reputable rehoming centre based in Great Britain.”

Henry Lloyd’s Blog

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