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Getting the most for animals from Brexit

This week all the main animal welfare groups in the UK will come together to present their ideas on how we can move animal welfare forward under Brexit.

February 2017

The Prime Minister clearly showed the Government’s position when she stated this month, during Prime Minister’s questions, that the UK should be “committed to maintaining and, where possible, improving standards of welfare in the UK, while ensuring of course that our industry is not put at a competitive disadvantage”. Words are great but putting them into action is much harder.

There are a number of risks along the road to exiting the EU. Firstly, we need to ensure that the UK nationalises all 44 animal welfare laws intact as it publishes its Great Repeal Bill in May. Eighty per cent of animal welfare laws in this country originate in Brussels so it’s vital we keep those standards. Then we need to keep animal welfare in the forefront of negotiators' minds as we leave the EU and negotiate our entry into a European free trade agreement. Defra has responsibility for around 40% of all the EU laws, so it is important that animal welfare doesn’t slip down their priority list. Then we will start to find new friends around the world with whom we have had trading relations. The ones at the front of the queue, Canada, USA and Australia, all have animal welfare standards much lower than the UK’s, particularly for farm animals. We need to ensure that we don’t start giving away our high welfare standards to farmers in those countries that can produce eggs, pigmeat and beef cheaper and using farming methods illegal in this country. The new Canadian free trade agreement, finalised by the European Parliament only last week, is not a good start.

But there are opportunities. Our 10 point plan, launched in the House of Lords, sets out ten areas where we believe leaving the EU, free from the constraints of finding consensus amongst 28 different countries, gives the UK to chance to improve our own animal standards. In areas as diverse as the transport and slaughter of farm animals and horses, to the importation of puppies from eastern Europe, we set out clear challenges to Government to make Brexit a success for animal welfare. After all, it is an issue that MPs consistently say that they receive more letters about than any other topic.

The reception this week, to be held at the House of Lords, also shows animal groups at their most collegiate. This is vital as the stakeholder noise level will only increase as they try and influence political thinking. As a start we need to be joined up in the green sector. Link plays a key role in ensuring that proposals put forward to improve animal welfare are consistent with and don’t compromise proposals from its environmental and landscape members. Producing Farming Fit for for the Future last year, ensured that we have an agreed position that suits all 46 Link members on what a farm support system will look like post 2020. In particular, where those €2.6 billion of finance support farmers currently receive can be redirected to work hardest to support a long term plan to protect and recover nature whilst producing high welfare sustainable food. By bringing together the 46 Link members, the 11 UK members of Eurogroup for Animals and the members of the Association of Lawyers for Animal Welfare we have a powerful voice to make sure political promises are delivered.

David Bowles

Assistant Director Public Affairs and Campaigns, RSPCA

Find David on Twitter @DavidBowles21

The opinions expressed in this blog are the author’s and not necessarily those of the wider Link membership