Apply animal welfare rules fairly – NFU
FARMING leaders have expressed reservations about the Government’s intention to enact a new series of animal welfare policy measures in what it calls its ‘Action Plan for Animal Welfare’.
The National Farmers Union said many of the measures directly affect British farmers.
Responding to the plan, NFU President Minette Batters, a livestock and arable farmer from the South West, said: “British farmers are proud to have some of the highest standards of animal welfare in the world and it is clear the government wants to be a global leader in this area. However, I have serious concerns about the government’s intention to raise the bar at home, without any certainty that the same standards will be applied to imports. There are still many practices allowed in countries we are currently negotiating with that are banned here, on welfare grounds. For example, it is not uncommon to see journey times for live animals in Australia exceed 24 hours without access to feed or water. In comparison, the government has recently consulted on reducing domestic journey times in the UK to eight hours.
“It’s also important to recognise that two sectors the government has singled out, poultry and pigs, have some of the highest engagement levels in farm assurances schemes, meaning they are managed and audited against robust animal welfare standards. Just over a quarter of eggs sold in retail last year were from enriched cages. If this production system were to be banned in this country then there is every prospect that the demand would simply be fulfilled by importing eggs from countries with lower standards.
“If the government is to raise the welfare bar here, it must do so for food imports. It would simply be hypocritical to do otherwise. We cannot have a situation where British
farmers adhere to some of the highest standards in the world, only to be undercut by imports that barely meet the lowest rung on the ladder.”
The action plan also includes a commitment to introduce better powers to tackle livestock worrying and new laws to crack down on hare coursing. Responding to these commitments, NFU Deputy President Stuart Roberts said: “I’m pleased that the government has recognised more can be done to tackle rural crime, which continues to plague farmers.”