Defra has temporarily suspended all commercial pet imports from Ukraine and its neighbouring countries.

The department is prioritising refugees fleeing the country with their own pets.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has temporarily suspended all commercial pet imports from Ukraine and its neighbouring countries.

In its latest update, the department said that commercial imports of dogs, cats and ferrets from Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and Romania had been temporarily suspended for one month 'to prioritise those fleeing Ukraine with their own pets'. 

The decision comes in part due to the limited number of quarantine facilities in the UK and concerns over the threat to the UK’s high animal health and disease status.

In March, the UK's chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss urged rehoming organisations to ensure rescue animals have the necessary paperwork after a shipment of rescue animals was found to have travelled on falsified rabies documentation.

The update from Defra and the APHA states: “We have concerns around the commercial movement of animals, between or from Ukraine and neighbouring countries and the health risk that presents. 

"The movement of large numbers of rescue animals who are entering Great Britain from high-risk rabies countries, without the correct health preparations, presents serious risks to biosecurity and public health. There has also been a number of serious instances of non-compliant imports, including those under falsified paperwork.”

Commercial animals are defined by the government as those destined be rehomed or sold to owners in Great Britain.