Dover District Council (DDC) has described two heavily critical reports by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) into biosecurity at the border and the impact of illegal meat imports as a ‘reset moment’ and has called for immediate government action.
The council said the content and conclusion of both the committee’s report on ‘Biosecurity at the border: Britain’s illegal meat crisis’, and the latest report on ‘UK-EU trade: towards a resilient border strategy’ bring home the stark reality of what is happening at our borders, why it is happening and what urgent action is needed now.
Lucy Manzano, Head of Port Health and Public Protection, welcomed findings as ‘a vital wake-up call to the realities at the UK’s borders,’ adding that Dover’s Port Health team is now ‘routinely removing tonnes of illegal meat every week, with minimal people on the ground.’ More than 10 tonnes collected in the first two weeks of September,
She added: “The EFRA Committee’s work is both timely and commendable. The findings of both reports align closely with what the Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) has been seeing on the ground and repeatedly warning DEFRA of since 2022. The new SPS agreement is a pivotal moment: creating a critical opportunity to get things right and fix what has been broken and build a system that works.
“DDC remains committed and ready to support DEFRA’s new team to ensure the right facilities are operational at Dover, keeping trade flowing, safeguarding biosecurity, and delivering robust, smarter, cost-effective solutions that can actually be delivered at the border.
“This is our reset moment. DEFRA must act on EFRA’s recommendations, so we can restore trust, credibility, and control at the border — and finally create a future-proof system that delivers for the UK.”
Urgent action
The reports echo DDC’s and the DPHA’s longstanding concerns around the significant risks illegal meat present to GB biosecurity at Dover – to public health, animal health, and national food safety – and they called for ‘urgent action to protect our border’.
The reports confirmed critical issues at Dover where significant volumes of illegal meat are seized, with year on year increases in seizure volumes, despite a lack of resources to provide sufficient operational cover at the port, unsatisfactory facilities and the absence of enforcement powers.
DDC highlighted some of the Committee’s conclusions and recommendations that it ‘looks forward to seeing the Government and DEFRA put in place’, as part of a plan to address the critical points in the reports, including:
Biosecurity at the border: Britain’s illegal meat crisis
- Repurpose Bastion Point to support DPHA’s enforcement activities
- Provide DPHA with interim emergency funding to at least double its operational cover for anti-meat smuggling operations at the border
- Transfer enforcement powers and funding for personal imports of illegal meat to port health authorities
- Fine and prosecute repeat offenders or those who attempt to smuggle significant volumes of illegal meat.
UK-EU trade: towards a resilient border strategy –
- Review BTOM (Border Target Operating Model) implementation and publish findings by Jan 2026
- Publish quarterly inspection data and risk models
- Increase transparency of Common User Charges to protect SMEs from disproportionate cost recovery
- Commit to clear BTOM transition timelines and delivery plans
- Clarify Sevington’s future and support affected local authorities
- Ensure real-time IPAFFS (import of products, animals, food and feed system) access for local authorities and pilot EU integration.
- Further recommendations are also welcomed, including the need to introduce a clear and enforceable personal import policy for EU products, establishment of a taskforce for illegal products of animal origin (POAO) that includes port health authorities to inform future policy, and publication of data on illegal import seizures.
DDC leader Cllr Kevin Mills said: “While we welcome the recognition of concerns in these key reports, what we need now is a clear timetable from Defra and the government on the delivery of these recommendations.
“We have been trying to protect the nation without the proper means to do so and have been calling for these changes since 2022 to increase biosecurity for the nation and the farming communities.”