Oral Answers to Questions

Ian C. Lucas Excerpts

Thursday 9th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Chris Williamson (Derby North) (Lab)]

3. What steps her Department is taking to promote farm animal welfare.

[Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

5. What steps her Department is taking to promote farm animal welfare.

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr James Paice)]

The coalition Government are committed to achieving high standards of animal welfare and are working through the detail of several policies to ensure that we accomplish this.

[Mr Paice]

That is complete nonsense. As the hon. Gentleman should know, the date is already enshrined in law. The question is whether we seek to change that. To suggest that I have not set a date is nonsense, because his Government set that date. But we are considering representations, as did my predecessor, about whether to change that date. One of the underlying factors, not just on this but throughout animal welfare, is the advice of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, which is the body set up to advise the Government, and I think the cross-party view is that it is a very worthy organisation. We take its views strongly into account as we consider this matter.

[Ian Lucas]

As a former Minister, I have seen photographs of the terrible consequences of some of the types of game bird farming that occur. Supported by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and other animal welfare groups, the previous Government brought forward legislation to improve the position. Why is it that this Government are determined to reverse that legislation and cause unnecessary suffering to game birds?

[Mr Paice]

It is precisely because that was the advice of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, which his Government disregarded.