The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has still not set a date for its consultation on dog breeding reform, almost ten months after promising it in the Animal Welfare Strategy for England. Answering a written question on 14 October 2026, Stephen Morgan, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at Defra, said the department was working to bring the consultation forward and that it would be published in due course.

The question came from Dr Danny Chambers, Liberal Democrat MP for Winchester, who asked when the consultation referred to in the strategy would be released. A day earlier, Mr Morgan answered Irene Campbell, Labour MP for North Ayrshire and Arran, who asked what Defra was doing to improve the traceability of dogs kept for breeding. Her question cited a Naturewatch Foundation press release of 21 September 2026 whose title suggested that only 10.5 to 14% of dog breeding is regulated. The reply restated the government’s commitment to end puppy farming and the low welfare breeding of dogs and said traceability and welfare would be improved by consulting on dog breeding reform. It gave no timetable.

Defra is working to bring forward the dog breeding reform consultation. It will be published in due course.

Stephen Morgan, Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, written answer, 14 October 2026

What the consultation is meant to cover

The strategy, published on 22 December 2025, says commercial dog breeders are subject to a specific licensing regime, but that problems with the breeding and sourcing of low welfare puppies persist because many breeders fall outside it. It also points to concerns about dogs bred for fashionable aesthetic qualities, the growth of canine fertility clinics and the irresponsible use of stud dogs. It commits Defra to consult on three changes:

  • a new registration scheme for all dog breeders, designed to dovetail with licensing and improve traceability and enforcement across the sector;
  • improvements to the health and welfare standards that all licensed dog breeders must meet;
  • bringing canine fertility clinics, stud dog services and whelping services into the licensing system.

The strategy describes its measures as priority actions for the course of this Parliament but gives no date for the dog breeding consultation. It does not mention kennel clubs. Neither of this week’s answers says how a breeder register would be run, what it would cost breeders or whether it would cover people who breed a single litter, and no draft proposals have been published.

Equanine’s reading

  • A register covering all dog breeders would reach many people who currently sit outside licensing in England, so the consultation is where thresholds, fees and record-keeping duties will first become visible. Until it appears, breeders cannot plan for the cost.
  • Canine fertility clinics, stud dog services and whelping services are named as candidates for licensing. Businesses in those lines should expect to be consulted and may want to document their current standards now.
  • Kennel clubs and breed clubs that run their own registration and health schemes have a direct interest in how a statutory register would sit alongside them, a question the strategy does not address.