Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department will take to ensure that (a) lamb from mulesed sheep flocks do not enter the UK as part of an Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement and (b) Australian lamb imports do not undermine the UK's animal welfare standards since that practice is illegal in the UK.

All agri-food products imported into the UK under existing or future free trade agreements will, as now, have to comply with the UK’s import requirements. That will not change as part of an FTA. Australian animal welfare standards are higher, comparatively, than many countries around the world and the Australian industry has a long-standing commitment to phase out the practice of mulesing. The Government wants to see this happen.