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Dover Port Health Authority performs proactive illegal meat checks only 20% of the time

Conclusion
Port Health Authorities and Border Force are responsible for seizing illegal meat and animal product imports at ports.38 The Department praised DPHA and Border Force for their work at Dover and confirmed that it has provided £9 million of funding to DPHA to support work on illegal meat imports.39 However, DPHA’s funding has only allowed it to undertake proactive illegal meat checks for 20% of the time, with the volume of meat being seized coming from less than 0.2% of inbound vehicles.40 The Department stated that future funding for this work was subject to its internal business planning which is usually undertaken in the autumn with funding confirmed in January of each year.41
Government Response

A response document is linked to this report, dated 19 January 2026. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document.

Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 0.9 yr
Report published 05 Nov 2025