Villiers’ plans ‘threaten the whole sheep industry’
Whether they formed offhand remarks or markers for future government policy, the comments made by Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Theresa Villiers at the Tory Party conference in Manchester this week had sheep producers jumping with anger.
Only in post since July, she stated that there should be a ban on live exports.
Not only that, Villiers, who has a record of wanting radical reform of animal welfare, wanted all livestock sent for slaughter to go to the nearest abattoir.
The National Sheep Association (NSA), which represents producers throughout the UK, said the remarks showed a “serious lack of knowledge and understanding” of how the sheep industry functioned especially relating to transport related welfare research.
If her views were enacted, NSA warned it would create serious issues for producers and it would affect the supply chain resulting in a loss of business options.
NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: “I have to question how ministers think markets function. They claim to understand the need for options in order to be able to negotiate with the EU but then suggest we take market options away from livestock farmers.”
Prior to Villiers being appointed, the NSA had publicly supported her predecessor Michael Gove continuing in post. This was repeated this week when Stocker stated that the NSA had held discussions with Gove on live exports and, as a result,”the secretary of state of the day appeared to accept that a ban on live exports was not necessary”.
“A system that offered greater controls and assurances was preferable,” added Stocker.
Any move to only permit the sale of livestock headed for slaughter at the most local abattoir would do nothing to help the profitability or the productivity of sheep farms, he claimed.
“If the government is serious about such a radical idea then it would have to offer slaughtering as a public service with the market functioning after that point,” he claimed, adding that would bring about a major restructuring of the industry.
While nothing that Villiers had pointed to a route that would bring about her preferred change, the NSA said it understood there would be a public consultation on the proposals adding it would oppose any that risked damaging the industry.