A move to ban cages for chickens and pigs could threaten British farming if not matched by higher welfare standards for imported meat, industry figures have warned.
Ministers have laid out plans to ban colony cages, which are used to hold dozens of chickens, and farrowing crates, which enclose sows after they have given birth, in a flagship animal welfare strategy.
But there are fears it could lead to British farmers being undercut, as both practices remain legal in countries exporting meat to Britain, including Poland, Spain and Ireland. The EU has pledged to phase out caged farming by 2027, but progress has been slow.
Tom Bradshaw, the president of the National Farmers’ Union, said: “If the government proposes raising domestic animal welfare standards further it must also take steps to ensure consumers are protected from imported food that could be produced to lower standards, and that British farmers are not asked to compete with imports produced at those lower standards which would be illegal for them to work to.
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“We have long called for a set of core standards for food imported into the UK; it must meet the same production standards as asked of our farmers. It is what the British people expect and it’s time a system of core standards was properly established in UK law.”
There is no baseline animal welfare standard for meat imported into Britain. Ministers insisted that the changes would help farmers to create a “productive, profitable and sustainable future for farming”. They said the government would assess whether overseas produce had an unfair advantage and “any impact that may have”.
They added that “where necessary” ministers would be “prepared to use the full range of powers at our disposal to protect our most sensitive sectors including permanent quotas, exclusions and safeguards”.
Sows and piglets in farrowing crates
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However, Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, claimed Labour was “favouring foreign farmers over British farmers by allowing substandard foreign imports to undercut our already high welfare standards”.
“Labour have snuck this announcement out just before Christmas to avoid scrutiny, because they know that this will be another hammerblow to farming profitability,” she said. “Once again they have shown that they simply don’t care about rural Britain.”
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Ministers have so far resisted watering down food standards, with hormone-treated beef excluded from a tariff-free agreement signed earlier this year with the US. But there are fears further concessions may be made, with President Trump reportedly pushing Sir Keir Starmer to allow American chlorinated chicken to be sold in British supermarkets in return for reviving a £31 billion tech partnership.
Alongside stricter farming regulations, the government’s animal welfare strategy will seek to end the practice of puppy farming by requiring all dog breeders to be licensed. Currently licences are only required for those breeding three or more litters per year.
It is illegal to breed dogs in tightly confined spaces
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While it is illegal to breed dozens of dogs in tightly confined spaces, research by the Naturewatch Foundation suggests the practice is widespread. The organisation estimates licensed breeders account for less than a fifth of the million dogs that arrive in British homes every year, suggesting that many come from illicit large-scale farms posing as small-scale breeders.
Also banned will be trail hunting, which involves laying a scent trail for hunters to follow. The government cited concerns that the practice was a “smokescreen” for illegal fox hunting.
Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary said: “We’re a nation of animal lovers. This government is delivering the most ambitious animal welfare strategy in a generation.
Protesters hold a banner against trail hunting
VUK VALCIC/ZUMA PRESS WIRE
“Our strategy will raise welfare standards for animals in the home, on the farm and in the wild. We’ve already acted to improve zoo standards, end puppy smuggling and protect livestock from dog attacks. Now, we’re planning to ban caged hens, cruel snares, trail hunting, and curb low welfare dog breeding.”
But Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, accused the government of harbouring an “obsession” with hunting.
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He said: “Animal rights activists have spent 20 years making increasingly spurious claims about the legal activity of hunts without any evidential basis. Trail hunting is a legal activity which supports hundreds of jobs and is central to many rural communities.
“Especially after its attack on family farms, the government should be focusing on addressing issues that actually help rural communities thrive, rather than pursuing divisive policies that hinder them.
“The government’s own figures show that more people have been convicted under the Hunting Act than any other piece of wildlife legislation, although only a tiny proportion of those relate to registered hunts. However unjustified it is, the law clearly works. There is absolutely no reason to revisit it.”
Labour said: “The Conservatives failed to spend £300 million of the agriculture budget and sold out our farmers in trade deals with New Zealand and Australia as Michael Gove, former DEFRA Secretary of State, admitted to Conservative Party conference this year.”