Parliament will not scrutinise UK-Australia trade deal
News
As the UK-Australia trade deal is moving forward, it has been revealed MPs will be denied the opportunity to debate a new trade deal putting animal welfare at risk.
We were disappointed to learn that politicians will not be given the chance to debate and scrutinise the new trade deal. The new deal will put animal welfare in the UK at risk by allowing low-welfare Australian meat to be sold on the UK market.
Currently sow stalls, barren battery cages, hormone-fed beef, hot branding, and mulesing (the removal of sections of skin from around the tail of a sheep, usually with no anaesthetic) are banned in the UK. However, these cruel farming practices are still permitted in Australia, making it cheaper for Australian farmers to raise animals for slaughter.
The hard-won protections for animal welfare in the UK are now in jeopardy. This is because UK farmers will not be able to compete with their Australian counterparts who do not need to abide by UK welfare standards. This puts British farmers at an unfair trading disadvantage, and they will likely need to compromise on animal welfare standards to compete in price and avoid being undercut by cheap imports. Effectively, this new deal is forcing British farmers to take a step back in animal welfare.
We were alarmed to hear that earlier this month the trade deal passed its scrutiny phase without giving parliament the chance to properly debate it and raise their concerns. This is despite Ministers previously promising that MPs will have the final say before passing the deal. Denying MPs the chance to discuss the deal means that important animal welfare concerns will be given no consideration and will not be debated.
“The Australia trade deal does not go far enough to protect current UK standards or prevent higher welfare British farmers being undermined. We should not be supporting unsustainable standards that currently allow cruel practices overseas that are illegal here in the UK such as sow stalls, battery cages and sheep mulesing, which is mutilating sheep to address problems caused by breeding them to produce excessive amounts of wool.
The Government has not consulted with the public on the trade deal who should have a say over what produce is available to buy on the UK food market.”
– Jessica Terry, World Animal Protection External Affairs Manager
The Government must recognise that high welfare standards should be mandatory for any produce entering the UK market if we are to remain a leader in animal rights. Because when they suffer, we all suffer.
Image credits: Hero image: Jo-Anne McArther / unsplash.com/@weanimalsmedia | News icon: Bonnie Kittle / unsplash.com/@bonniekdesign
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This new deal is forcing British farmers to take a step back in animal welfare.