Dog Meat (South Korea)
Debate between Catherine West and Lady Hermon(8 years, 2 months ago)
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Catherine West
We are all aware of the high-profile debate about grammar schools in the Chamber now, which is perhaps why there are not as many hon. Members in Westminster Hall. Nevertheless, we have representation from almost every party, which is great.
Lady Hermon
A number of hon. Members referred to the atrocious trade of greyhounds being exported and cruelly consumed in South Korea. Greyhounds are very intelligent animals. They also have a high haemoglobin count and are one of the few types of dog that can give another dog a blood transfusion. Therefore, will the hon. Lady take the opportunity to say something about what her party, as a united party on this issue, might do to ensure that greyhounds are not exported through Europe or elsewhere, so that they are not consumed—which is a grisly business—in South Korea?
Catherine West
My hon. Friend the Member for Bristol East has a track record of raising that issue on a number of occasions and has been a champion for animal welfare. Certainly, we could raise the greyhound issue with the Government again. Perhaps we could even seek a further debate here so that we give campaigners every assurance that it is at the top of our animal welfare agenda.
Finally, there are questions that go beyond the specifics of dog meat. The UK has come a long way in improving practices to ensure that our meat industry has, as much as it can, a sense of health and safety, welfare requirements and systems for oversight and scrutiny. Depending on the level of detail into which the Minister gets with his colleagues in South Korea, perhaps we could do some best practice exchanges. Our universities and veterinary schools have excellence in research and development. Are there some R and D exchanges that the Minister could give us some assurance on?
I thank you, Mr Nuttall, for chairing the debate. I hope we can continue to see progress, particularly in the timing of the Minister’s interventions with his opposite number. As the big events of 2018 come up, he will have more opportunities to develop relationships with countries that are hosting large sporting events. He, his officers, his parliamentary private secretaries and all the other Ministers who get to pop into South Korea and make representations on many issues can try several different approaches.