Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government when the Animal Welfare Strategy will be published.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Prime Minister announced that we will be publishing an animal welfare strategy later this year.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to update legislation to include species-specific requirements for the slaughter of farmed fish; and what assessment they have made of the potential benefits of such measures for improving animal welfare standards and enhancing the competitiveness of the English aquaculture sector.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Animal Welfare Committee’s updated Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing was finalised in 2023. Since then a GB-wide joint government-industry working group on farmed trout has been examining the issues raised in the report to explore potential options for more detailed welfare at killing requirements. This co-design work has made good progress and we are now exploring all the potential next steps. The Scottish Government is also working closely with the salmon industry on more detailed welfare at killing requirements.

The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme also recently opened for applications. The Scheme offers financial support to catching, processing and aquaculture businesses, including for improvements to animal health and welfare such as equipment to protect farms from wild predators or equipment to kill fish in a more humane way.