Animal welfare pays dividends

Focusing on the UK’s reputation for excellent animal welfare will help pig and poultry producers respond to the opportunities and challenges created by Brexit, according to sector experts.

Despite uncertainties around trade and the future of farm policy, farmers should be thinking about how they might be able to drive productivity and efficiencies.

Sharing the story of the UK’s high standards of animal welfare, as well working to further improve supply chain transparencies, should help producers take advantage of new market opportunities.

Speaking at the

Pig and Poultry Fair, Mark Williams, chief executive of the British Egg Industry Council, said the UK egg sector had seen significant growth in recent years, with layer bird numbers increasing to 40 million from 33m in 2012.

However, with imports accounting for 14% of the eggs consumed in the UK, there was potential for further growth – provided that expansion was responsible and continued to focus on high-welfare production systems.

Richard Pearson, head of agriculture at Chippindale foods agreed that welfare had to remain a strong part of UK poultry production’s story if potential for growth was to be achieved.

Meanwhile, in the pig sector Andrew Saunders of Tulip Foods said the high welfare story of UK pigmeat would help producers grasp opportunities created by Brexit to trade with countries outside Europe.