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 ensure that the ban on gestation crates for pigs will remain in force in the event of a future UK-US trade agreement.
The Government is proud of the high food safety and animal welfare standards that underpin our high-quality Great British produce. The UK will maintain its high standards as part of any future free trade agreements.
In the UK, close-confinement stalls for breeding sows have been banned since 1999. The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 requires all sows and gilts to be kept in groups. This protection will continue after we leave the EU.