Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 16-week protection period for the marketing of free-range eggs following the imposition of Government measures to control the spread of avian influenza on poultry farmers that are complying with those marketing rules.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Egg Marketing Standards provides a 16-week derogation period during which the free-range description can be retained on eggs even if hens have been housed.
Defra currently has no plans to review this derogation period. However, in recognition of the pressures the egg sector is currently facing, particularly rising input costs alongside the impacts of Avian Influenza, Defra has granted a concession which will apply if the housing orders that are currently in place in England exceed the 16 week derogation period. This concession will allow producers and packers, on a one-off basis, the option to use either direct print to pack or an affixed label on free-range boxes. Accompanying clear and transparent point of sale signage should also be in place to ensure consumers are not misled and to avoid undermining consumer confidence in the free-range industry.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that the compensation protocol and payment scheme for poultry farms found to be affected by avian influenza provides sufficient economic support to those farmers.
Answered by Mark Spencer
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Upper Bann, on 18 November 2022, PQ UIN 78897.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to increase support for (a) the development of avian influenza vaccines and (b) other research to help tackle the outbreak of that disease.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Defra continues to invest in avian influenza research and monitors the situation in Europe and globally. Any future decisions on disease control measures, including the use of vaccination, will be based upon the latest scientific, ornithological, and veterinary advice.
In conjunction with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), Defra monitors the development and availability of vaccines for use to protect against avian influenza and as a control measure during avian influenza outbreaks, as they are put forward for marketing authorisation by vaccine manufacturers.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) leads government funded research on animal disease control and alongside the Government’s continued investment in the Avian Influenza National Reference Laboratory and APHA’s Weybridge site, earlier this year an eight-strong consortium ‘FluMap’ led by APHA and funded by Defra and the Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council (BBSRC) was launched that received £1.5 million in funding to develop new strategies to tackle avian influenza outbreaks. This year-long research project will help build our understanding in a number of key areas, including why the current virus strains have formed larger and longer outbreaks and understanding transmission and infection in different bird populations. The research gaps addressed by the consortium were identified from the recent STAR-IDAZ International Research Consortium Animal Influenza Research Review and knowledge gaps identified during recent avian influenza outbreaks.
The STAR-IDAZ International Research Consortium is a global initiative aiming to coordinate research programmes at the international level and to contribute to the development of new and improved animal health strategies for priority diseases, infections and issues.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the context of the avian influenza outbreak, if she will hold discussions with her counterparts in devolved governments to encourage the expansion of mandatory housing measures to all poultry and captive birds in Great Britain.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the devolved administrations to assess their disease risks and respond accordingly. However, the UK Government works with the devolved administrations to seek a coordinated response wherever possible to control disease. All four administrations are an integral part of the UK-wide decision-making processes for animal disease outbreaks.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it remains his Department's policy to review the use of cages in farming.
Answered by Mark Spencer
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 03 November 2022 to the hon. Member for Glasgow North, PQ UIN 69670.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure the welfare of kept animals (a) imported into and (b) exported from the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer
HM Government published a wide-reaching and ambitious Action Plan for Animal Welfare on 12 May 2021, setting out current and future work on animal welfare. Now that we have left the EU, we are making significant changes to domestic law through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, bringing into legislation manifesto commitments to end the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter and to crack down on puppy smuggling.
Through the Bill, HM Government will be banning exports of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and equines for slaughter and fattening on journeys that begin in or transit through the United Kingdom to a third country. The Bill also protects the welfare of pet animals, addressing low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain, including powers to introduce new restrictions, via secondary legislation, on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds.
HM Government is committed to improving the welfare standards of all animal journeys. We have consulted on proposals for improvements to animal welfare in transport and we published the summary of responses and HM Government’s response to this consultation in August 2021. We are now working closely with all interested partners on the detailed issues and evidence, to create workable solutions and good welfare outcomes.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is committed to the continuation of environmental land management schemes.
Answered by Mark Spencer
We remain committed to environmental land management and are looking at how best to deliver the schemes to see where and how improvements can be made. We will continue to work closely with the sector in developing the schemes and publish more information by the end of the year.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure the welfare of reindeer being used at seasonal events during winter 2022-23.
Answered by Scott Mann
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) require that anyone in the business of keeping or training animals for exhibition needs a valid licence from their local authority, including reindeer used at seasonal events. Licencees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences.
The 2018 Regulations are accompanied by statutory guidance notes developed to help local authorities enforce the licensing regime. The guidance notes for keeping or training animals for exhibition can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-activities-licensing-guidance-for-local-authorities/keeping-or-training-animals-for-exhibition-licensing-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities
The keeping of dangerous wild animals is also regulated by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. The Act requires owners of dangerous wild animals, as listed in the Act, to be licensed by their Local Authority. A reindeer (with the exception of a domestic reindeer) is classified by the act as a dangerous wild animal. The aim of the Act is to ensure that where private individuals keep dangerous wild animals, they do so in circumstances that create no risk to the public.
A local authority may only grant a licence if it is satisfied that it would not be contrary to public interest on the grounds of safety or nuisance; that the applicant is a suitable person; and the animal's accommodation is adequate and secure.
If anyone has any concerns about the welfare of a reindeer that is being exhibited, they should report the matter to the relevant local authority who have powers to investigate.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the suffering of farmed fish at the time of killing.
Answered by Steve Double
Legislation on the protection of animals at the time of killing requires that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations.
As part of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are currently considering improvements that could be made to the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing. To inform this work, we have asked the Animal Welfare Committee for advice and this is expected in the autumn.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the data published by Natural England on 15 December 2021 on the number of satellite tags on hen harriers that have stopped transmitting since November 2021.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
For many years Natural England (NE) has been involved with monitoring, tagging and satellite tracking hen harriers. When a bird goes missing, it may be due to natural causes, an issue with the device, or there is a possibility that it could have been illegally killed. In the first instance, NE staff communicate with the police and will attempt to retrieve the bird to establish the cause of death. If there is evidence of illegal killing, police will investigate, assisted by NE.
As of the end of the last breeding season, NE was tracking 29 hen harriers: 17 newly-fledged juveniles and 12 adults. Of the 17 juveniles hatched and tagged in 2021, in 10 cases the tags have ceased transmitting, with the birds believed to have died. Of those, three have been found, of which two appear to have died due to natural causes, and one is pending further investigation. The other seven were not found, with no police investigations due to the absence of any information about cause of death. Of the 12 adults being tracked, one tag has ceased transmitting, with the bird believed to have died, and has not been found. NE is therefore still tracking seven juveniles and 11 adults. Natural mortality of juvenile hen harriers is much higher than adults, and it would not be surprising for at least 50 per cent to die naturally in their first year, even in the absence of persecution. There is currently an ongoing police investigation into t he death of an adult bird that went missing last year before the end of the breeding season.
The Government takes wildlife crime seriously, with most wildlife crimes carrying an unlimited fine and/or a six-month custodial sentence. To address concerns about the illegal killing of birds of prey, senior Government and enforcement officers have identified raptor persecution as a national wildlife crime priority. NE and Defra continue to be fully involved with the police-led Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group and NE continues to work closely with Wildlife Crime Officers. Additionally, since 2016, Defra and the Home Office have contributed approximately £300,000 annually to the National Wildlife Crime Unit, which monitors and gathers intelligence on wildlife crime, including raptor persecution, and aids police forces in their investigations when required.