Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • FREE Magazine Subscriptions
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Poultry News
    • Production
      • Broiler Production
      • Ducks
      • Egg Production
      • Game
      • Hatching
      • Housing
      • Turkeys
    • Processing
    • Business & Politics
      • Business
      • Economics
      • EU & Politics
      • Marketing
      • People
      • Training & Education
    • Welfare
      • Environment
      • Food Safety
      • Vet & Medication
      • Welfare
    • Feed
    • Genetics
    • New Products
    • Magazines
      1. July 2022
      2. June 2022
      3. May 2022
      4. April 2022
      5. February 2022
      6. January 2022
      Featured

      Protected: Poultry Business – August 2022

      By Michael BarkerJuly 26, 2022
      Recent

      Protected: Poultry Business – August 2022

      July 26, 2022

      Protected: Health Supplement 2022

      July 25, 2022

      Protected: Poultry Business – July 2022

      June 28, 2022
    • Jobs
      • Browse Jobs
      • Post a Job
      • Manage Jobs
    • Events
      • National Egg and Poultry Awards
      • Poultry Fair
    Poultry News
    Business & Politics

    Comment: We mustn’t export production to countries with no animal welfare standards

    Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanJune 10, 20215 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    By Mark Williams, chief executive, British Egg Industry Council
    The UK Government and devolved governments made the correct decision to lift the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone across Great Britain on 15 May, then on 20 May in Northern Ireland, given the reduced risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza from wild birds. However, there has been 24 cases of Avian Influenza in poultry flocks and over 300 wild bird incidents across both mainland Great Britain, and Northern Ireland. This makes the latest avian influenza season the worst we have seen. The situation in the EU has been severe with around 1,200 cases in poultry flocks, and over 2,125 incidents in wild birds, with 85 captive bird outbreaks.
    This reinforces the importance of what I have said before and will continue to say about the importance of biosecurity, we cannot be complacent when it comes to avian influenza. We may see the next major threat sooner than 3-4 years, and this will pose a considerable challenge for our sector, in these already challenging times. The Poultry Health and Welfare Group is organising an avian influenza workshop on 13 September, designed to update the industry on the latest information and best practice on how to protect flocks from this threat.
    In other news, Defra has launched its Action Plan for Animal Welfare, which will apply in England. Animal welfare is devolved in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but Defra and the UK Government has said they hope the devolved governments will coordinate with them on these priorities. The Action Plan covers 5 areas: Sentience and enforcement; International trade and advocacy; Farm animals; Pets and sporting animals; and Wild animals.
    On international trade and advocacy, the Action Plan states: “Our manifesto commitment made clear that in all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards. To support the reforms set out elsewhere in this action plan, UK farmers should not be undercut by unfair competition. The Government will use the most suitable tools available to make sure this commitment is upheld”.
    On farm animals, the Action Plan states: “Taking advantage of our status as an independent trading nation, we will legislate to end the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter. Our departure from the EU has provided us with a much-awaited opportunity to address this long-standing ambition. The government has consulted on a number of other welfare in transport reforms, such as setting maximum journey times, space allowances for animals and temperature controls.
    We are now considering this policy area in further detail to determine what will be taken forward in future legislation to improve transport conditions for animals. We have a strong track record for raising the bar when it comes to farm animal welfare standards, such as banning battery cages for laying hens, sow stalls for pigs and veal crates for calves. We want to continue to build on this and we are currently considering the case for introducing further reforms, on areas such as the use of farrowing crates for pigs and cages for laying hens”.
    The BEIC will continue as always to engage with Defra and the devolved governments to ensure that a consequence of raising our bird welfare standards is not the export of production to countries with low or no animal welfare standards.
    In terms of UK-EU trade, the European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The agreement was backed by 660 votes to 5, the deal, which was adopted in principle, being in effect from 1 January 2021, is now official. The deal allows for quota and tariff free access to the EU’s Single Market, but it goes without saying that this access is not as frictionless as when the UK was a member of the EU. For farming and agriculture, for example these difficulties have manifested themselves around SPS rules, bringing added cost to our sector and consumers.
    The Department for International Trade (DIT) has recently launched public consultations into prospective UK free trade agreements with Canada, Mexico, and India. The negotiations with Canada and Mexico have been framed as key building blocks to UK membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The BEIC met with Defra officials earlier in the year to discussion the laying hen sector’s concerns regarding egg production systems in CPTPP countries that are illegal under both UK and EU law – most notable barren battery cages, which will undermine the UK Government’s own animal welfare commitments, and the expectations of consumers.
    We will continue to raise our concerns with parliamentarians and officials that any free trade deals should not undermine our high standards of animal welfare by allowing eggs and egg products, produced to lower standards, onto the UK market through the back door. This is particularly important when it comes to egg products which can then be incorporated in thousands of finished food products, with consumers being unaware of the origin of these products.

    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticlePoultry Business June 2021
    Next Article Trial data highlights success of early poultry red mite treatment
    Chloe Ryan

    Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

    Read Similar Stories

    Business & Politics

    NFU calls on government for immediate action on labour shortages

    August 5, 2022
    Business & Politics

    Liz Truss pledges to support farmers with deregulation if elected

    August 3, 2022
    Business & Politics

    Sarah Dean appointed chair of Noble Foods

    August 3, 2022
    Most Read

    Poultry among fastest-rising grocery prices

    August 17, 2022

    NFU warns of post strike impact

    August 17, 2022

    Red Tractor tightens hygiene requirements to try and stamp out avian flu

    August 16, 2022
    © 2022 Lewis Business Media. All Rights Reserved.
    Lewis Business Media, Suite A, Arun House, Office Village, River Way, Uckfield, TN22 1SL

    Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • AA Farmer
    • Farm Contractor
    • Pig World
    • OvertheCounter

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsREJECT ALLAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    AWSALBCORS7 daysThis cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
    PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    CookieDurationDescription
    AWSALB7 daysAWSALB is a cookie generated by the Application load balancer in the Amazon Web Services. It works slightly different from AWSELB.
    explat_test_aa_weekly_lohp_2021_week_4517 days 8 hoursNo description
    ppwp_wp_session30 minutesNo description
    tk_ai14 daysGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
    tk_qssessionGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    CookieDurationDescription
    OAGEOsessionOpenX sets this cookie to avoid the repeated display of the same ad.
    OAID1 yearThis cookie is set when an AdsWizz website visitor have opted out the collection of information by AdsWizz service or opted to disable the targeted ads by AdsWizz.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    CookieDurationDescription
    _ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
    _gat_gtag_UA_31822138_71 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
    _gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
    tk_lr1 yearThe tk_lr is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
    tk_or5 yearsThe tk_or is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
    tk_r3d3 daysJetPack installs this cookie to collect internal metrics for user activity and in turn improve user experience.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    Powered by CookieYes Logo