Animal Welfare Post Brexit

The departure day is now unclear but when the day does arrive; the UK faces a great amount of uncertainty.

Brexit would affect a lot of issues however, one subject that seems to be avoided by politicians and the general public is animal welfare. Specifically, the future of our nation’s food, and the way we produce it. 

80% of the animal welfare laws come from the EU. The UK needs to make sure we implement better laws for our departure to keep the UK number one in Animal Welfare. However, the UK has “(…)implemented higher regulatory standards than the baselines set by EU” (RSPCA, 2018)

In November 2017, The Conservative Party voted that animals are not sentient beings; for many people this statement is untrue. 

Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and RSPCA, both charities to promote higher welfare for animals in both domestic and farming,  have made agendas and recommendations to the Government which they believe should be implemented when the UK leaves the EU.

CIWF is an NGO, who state on their Twitter“Our vision is a world where farm animals are treated with compassion and respect. Our mission is to end factory farming” 

Live export is a big topic of conversation in the EU. Live exports are needed as part of the single market, this low standard welfare practice can be abandoned.

The UK exports calves, sheep and much more livestock to Europe. By doing this we lose control over slaughterhouse conditions. An investigation by the French L214 (a non-profit animal protection charity)  revealed “illegal and cruel slaughter conditions in French abattoirs”.

CIWF is proposing that live exports should be banned and animals killed close to where they were raised, in the UK. 

It is also suggested that all animals must become free-range or housed in large spaces with access to sunlight and fresh air. Although this may seem obvious, it is not the case in a large majority of farms. Animals, especially chickens, are kept in cruel conditions and have their beaks removed to prevent violence. Male chicks are often put on a conveyor belt into a ‘blender’, as they have no purpose.

CIWF also states that labelling – which is currently unclear should become mandatory. Having labels of where the animal was raised and slaughtered will help consumers to make better choices. Especially with milk, it’s very “hard to distinguish between intensive and pasture-based milk as they are all pooled together, apart from organic.” According to CIWF Government recommendations.

The recently resigned Environment Secretary, Michael Gove was very passionate about animal welfare and listened to many protestors and lobbyists. He said in 2017 “I am an animal, we are all animals, and therefore I care.” 

Animal welfare is occasionally brought up in debates but only through the pressure of public demand, Boris Johnson has spoken up recently in favour of banning live exports and the Conservatives will consult on whether they think animals should be sent to the closest abattoir. 

Bernard Jenkin MP for North Essex and Harwich said. “ I believe animals are sentient beings who can feel pain and suffering, and I would like to reassure you that strong action is being taken to reduce their risk of harm. The government is committed to making any necessary changes to UK law in a rigorous and comprehensive way to ensure animal sentience is legally recognised once the UK leaves the EU. Once we have left the EU, we could do even more.” 

Furthermore, in 2011 the horsemeat scandal took over the UK with horsemeat being found in many highstreets fast food stores and supermarkets. All meat affected was traced back to Ireland and an abattoir which is leading in EU meat production.  World Horse Welfare, a campaigning organisation, launched a petition asking for operations at the abattoirs to stop until new procedures are put in place, and for the introduction and monitoring of CCTV at all slaughterhouses licensed to take horses in the UK.

 This came into place in 2016. If the footage was readily available for people to see, consumers would be able to make educated choices. 

The EU currently sees animals as ‘goods’ -as farm animals are products. This is due to free movement. Due to this, live exports have not been banned previously, and “member states aren’t allowed to prohibit live exports”. The government is stating that imported meat must meet UK welfare and health standards and if not, there will be tariffs put into place, encouraging countries to tighten up on standards to benefit from little to zero tariffs. This is also the case for Northern Ireland, as backstop rules are unclear. and whatever the case “NI shouldn’t be considered a ‘back door’ for live exports”. 

 In the UK 50% of Sows (female pigs) are put in farrowing crates days before giving birth. This is to ‘prevent’ the mother from crushing her piglets. This pain and suffering is documented. The (RSPCA, 2018) is proposing that farrowing crates are banned, and replaced with farrowing free systems, allowing mothers to be with their babies. Research also shows that piglet mortalities are higher in crates than those without. 

RSPCA and Compassion In World Farming are two of many NGO and charities who will be advising the Government about new laws to implement. These are only recommendations and it’s not certain the Government will listen or respond to them. There are many things that the government needs to acknowledge and respond to, such as the uncertainty of the trade deal with the US and the rest of the world; it’s therefore recognised that animal welfare is a small cog in the big machine but it is very important.

The question of whether animal welfare will improve after the UK leaves the EU will not be answered until we see it for ourselves. Nothing is going to change overnight but, these organisations and consumers must keep speaking up about what they want the future to look like. The UK has been renowned for decades for having the best animal welfare in the world- it’s important we keep that title and continue to up the standard.