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 potential effect of the Government's legislative proposals on animal welfare on the number of animals that will continue to be exported from the UK.

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will ban exports of livestock and equines for slaughter and fattening from Great Britain. The numbers of live animals exported for slaughter and fattening have decreased in recent years, so that last year only around 6,300 sheep were exported for slaughter and around 38,000 sheep were exported for fattening from Great Britain to the EU[1]. This accounted for around 58% of exports of livestock and equines (excluding poultry) from Great Britain to the EU in the same year. The remaining 42% of livestock and equine exports were for purposes other than slaughter and fattening, such as breeding, which will continue to be permitted.

[1] Figures referenced are from the EU Trade and Control Expert System for year 2020