Animal Welfare in the Food System

Submitted by: Federal Policy Committee
Mover: Tim Farron MP (Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).
Summation: Dr Danny Chambers MP.

Conference believes that:

1. Animals are sentient beings with the capacity to feel pain and suffering and that they have a right to live in as decent and humane conditions as possible.
2. The British people are a nation of animal lovers, who expect and deserve high levels of animal health and welfare in the food that they eat.
3. The government must have a comprehensive strategy for animal welfare which ensures animals in the food system are able to live in humane and healthy environments from birth to death.
4. Government policy must support British farmers to produce a safe, sustainable and affordable supply of food while further improving animal welfare and environmental standards.
5. High animal welfare standards go hand in hand with high environmental standards, food security, human health, and a stronger economy.

Conference notes that, under the last Conservative Government, Britain started to fall behind on animal welfare, undermining high standards of British farming, with notable failures including:

1. The culling of hundreds of thousands of animals due to labour shortages brought about by the shortage of vets and farm workers and the closure of small local abattoirs, due to the Conservatives’ failure to support rural communities, mismanagement of the economy, and failed deal with Europe.
2. The introduction of low animal welfare imports onto British shelves due to the Conservatives’ flawed trade deals and chaotic border controls.
3. Scrapping the Kept Animals Bill in May 2023.
4. Failing to act meaningfully on the 2018 Stacey Review on farm regulation.
5. Breaking its promise to consult on ending the use of cages for farm animals.

Conference also notes with disappointment the Labour Government’s failure so far to make any progress on its election commitment to “the biggest boost in animal welfare in a generation”, including:

1. The absence of an overarching animal welfare strategy, with no mention of it in the King's Speech and no government legislation planned.
2. Its timid approach to Europe hampers farmers with red tape and restricts their access to key workers like vets.
3. A lack of understanding of rural and farming communities, which are responsible for maintaining our food and animals to high standards.
4. Its commitment to implement new targets to ensure 50% of food supplied to the public sector is produced by British farmers or certified to higher animal welfare and environmental standards. 

Conference reaffirms the existing Liberal Democrat commitments to:

1. Ensure that UK animal welfare and farming standards are not undermined by new trade deals and renegotiating the trade deals with Australia and New Zealand to ensure British standards are not undercut.
2. Provide a responsive and well-resourced advisory service for farmers.
3. Develop safe, effective, humane, and evidence-based ways of controlling bovine tuberculosis, including by investing to produce workable vaccines that minimises harm to badgers and cattle.
4. Sign a veterinary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU as soon as possible, and alignment on standards and quality.
5. Introduce a Research and Innovation Fund to support new and emerging technologies in the sector including the further development of precision agriculture and alternative proteins.

Conference calls for the highest quality of life possible for animals in our food system, including by:

1. Passing a comprehensive new Animal Health and Welfare Bill and all-encompassing national strategy on animal health and welfare, that secures Britain’s place as a world leader in animal welfare.
2. Improving animal welfare on the farm by:
   1. Providing training, support and financial incentives to farmers so that they can develop even higher, world-leading standards of animal welfare, including more funding for peer-to-peer learning to reward farmer networks for sharing knowledge and skills.
   2. Ensuring that the Growth and Skills Levy takes into account the importance of agricultural skills to provide access to apprenticeships in the sector and support the next generation with expertise in animal welfare.
   3. Investing in a comprehensive workforce plan, so that farmers have access to enough vets, abattoirs and farm workers to meet the UK’s needs.
   4. Expanding the Competition and Markets Authority investigation into veterinary services to cover non-domestic animal services.
   5. Preventing unnecessarily painful practices in farming including non-anaesthetised castration and debudding, live plucking and force feeding.
   6. Developing a national strategy, in consultation with stakeholders, to ‘End the Cage Age’ of animal farming, bringing an end to practices like farrowing crates within this Parliament.
   7. Working towards the adoption of the Better Chicken Commitment standards.
3. Improving animal welfare standards in trade by:
   1. Setting minimum standards for all imported food to meet UK animal welfare standards.
   2. Matching EU standards by banning the import of food produced with antibiotic growth promoters.
   3. Ensuring that no animal product that would be illegal to produce in the UK can be sold in Britain, including foie gras.
4. Introducing a national strategy to combat antibiotic resistance in farm animals, so that they are no longer used to compensate for poor conditions, including:
   1. Training and financial support for farmers to reduce their antibiotic use.
   2. A UK ban on all routine use of antibiotics and all preventative use of antibiotics in groups of animals.
   3. Stronger rules on using antibiotics as a last resort.
   4. Routine collection and publication of national data on antibiotic use.
   5. Phasing out the import of food produced with irresponsible antibiotic use.
5. Making sure the public sector plays its role in promoting animal welfare by ensuring that:
   1. All public procurement is compliant with high animal welfare standards.
   2. An annual report on the level of high welfare food supplied to the public sector is laid before Parliament.
   3. The Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF) are properly monitored and enforced.
   4. Police officers and other enforcement officials have the training and resources they need to uphold standards.
6. Giving consumers proper information and choice by introducing a clear system of labelling, based on the successful egg labelling system, detailing:
   1. The locality the animal was reared in.
   2. The conditions they were kept in.
   3. The method of slaughter.
   4. The environmental impact of the product.

Applicability: Federal except for 1. (lines 41-43), 5. b) and 6. (lines 117-125) which are England and Wales, and II., V. (lines 64-77) , 2 a), b) (lines 74-80) and d) to f) (lines 84-92) which are England only.

Motion prior to amendment

Conference believes that:

1. Animals are sentient beings with the capacity to feel pain and suffering and that they have a right to live in as decent and humane conditions as possible.
2. The British people are a nation of animal lovers, who expect and deserve high levels of animal health and welfare in the food that they eat.
3. The government must have a comprehensive strategy for animal welfare which ensures animals in the food system are able to live in humane and healthy environments from birth to death.
4. Government policy must support British farmers to produce a safe, sustainable and affordable supply of food while further improving animal welfare and environmental standards.
5. High animal welfare standards go hand in hand with high environmental standards, food security, human health, and a stronger economy.

Conference notes that, under the last Conservative Government, Britain started to fall behind on animal welfare, undermining high standards of British farming, with notable failures including:

1. The culling of hundreds of thousands of animals due to labour shortages brought about by the shortage of vets and farm workers and the closure of small local abattoirs, due to the Conservatives’ failure to support rural communities, mismanagement of the economy, and failed deal with Europe.
2. The introduction of low animal welfare imports onto British shelves due to the Conservatives’ flawed trade deals and chaotic border controls.
3. Scrapping the Kept Animals Bill in May 2023.
4. Failing to act meaningfully on the 2018 Stacey Review on farm regulation.
5. Breaking its promise to consult on ending the use of cages for farm animals.

Conference also notes with disappointment the Labour Government’s failure so far to make any progress on its election commitment to “the biggest boost in animal welfare in a generation”, including:

1. The absence of an overarching animal welfare strategy, with no mention of it in the King's Speech and no government legislation planned.
2. Its timid approach to Europe hampers farmers with red tape and restricts their access to key workers like vets.
3. A lack of understanding of rural and farming communities, which are responsible for maintaining our food and animals to high standards.

Conference reaffirms the existing Liberal Democrat commitments to:

1. Ensure that UK animal welfare and farming standards are not undermined by new trade deals and renegotiating the trade deals with Australia and New Zealand to ensure British standards are not undercut.
2. Provide a responsive and well-resourced advisory service for farmers.
3. Develop safe, effective, humane, and evidence-based ways of controlling bovine tuberculosis, including by investing to produce workable vaccines that minimises harm to badgers and cattle.
4. Sign a veterinary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU as soon as possible, and alignment on standards and quality.
5. Introduce a Research and Innovation Fund to support new and emerging technologies in the sector including the further development of precision agriculture and alternative proteins.

Conference calls for the highest quality of life possible for animals in our food system, including by:

1. Passing a comprehensive new Animal Health and Welfare Bill and all-encompassing national strategy on animal health and welfare, that secures Britain’s place as a world leader in animal welfare.
2. Improving animal welfare on the farm by:
   1. Providing training, support and financial incentives to farmers so that they can develop even higher, world-leading standards of animal welfare.
   2. Investing in a comprehensive workforce plan, so that farmers have access to enough vets, abattoirs and farm workers to meet the UK’s needs.
   3. Expanding the Competition and Markets Authority investigation into veterinary services to cover non-domestic animal services.
   4. Preventing unnecessarily painful practices in farming including non-anaesthetised castration and debudding, live plucking and force feeding.
   5. Developing a national strategy, in consultation with stakeholders, to ‘End the Cage Age’ of animal farming, bringing an end to practices like farrowing crates within this Parliament.
   6. Working towards the adoption of the Better Chicken Commitment standards.
3. Improving animal welfare standards in trade by:
   1. Setting minimum standards for all imported food to meet UK animal welfare standards.
   2. Matching EU standards by banning the import of food produced with antibiotic growth promoters.
   3. Ensuring that no animal product that would be illegal to produce in the UK can be sold in Britain, including foie gras.
4. Introducing a national strategy to combat antibiotic resistance in farm animals, so that they are no longer used to compensate for poor conditions, including:
   1. Training and financial support for farmers to reduce their antibiotic use.
   2. A UK ban on all routine use of antibiotics and all preventative use of antibiotics in groups of animals.
   3. Stronger rules on using antibiotics as a last resort.
   4. Routine collection and publication of national data on antibiotic use.
   5. Phasing out the import of food produced with irresponsible antibiotic use.
5. Making sure the public sector plays its role in promoting animal welfare by ensuring that:
   1. All public procurement is compliant with high animal welfare standards.
   2. Police officers and other enforcement officials have the training and resources they need to uphold standards.
6. Giving consumers proper information and choice by introducing a clear system of labelling, based on the successful egg labelling system, detailing:
   1. The locality the animal was reared in.
   2. The conditions they were kept in.
   3. The method of slaughter.
   4. The environmental impact of the product.

Applicability: Federal except for 1. (lines41-43), 5. b) and 6. (lines 117-125) which are England and Wales, and II., V. (lines 64-77) , 2 a), b) (lines 74-80) and d) to f) (lines 84-92) which are England only.

Amendments

PASSED

Amendment One

Submitted by: 10 members
Mover: Baroness Grender (Lords Spokesperson on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Summation: tba

After line 48, insert new 4.: 

4. Its commitment to implement new targets to ensure 50% of food supplied to the public sector is produced by British farmers or certified to higher animal welfare and environmental standards. 

After line 116, insert new b) and c): 

b) An annual report on the level of high welfare food supplied to the public sector is laid before Parliament.

c) The Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF) are properly monitored and enforced.

Amendment Two

PASSED

Submitted by: 10 members
Mover: Elliot Chapman-Jones
Summation: tba

At end of line 77, insert:

‘…, including more funding for peer-to-peer learning to reward farmer networks for sharing knowledge and skills’. 

After line 77, insert new b): 

b) Ensuring that the Growth and Skills Levy takes into account the importance of agricultural skills to provide access to apprenticeships in the sector and support the next generation with expertise in animal welfare.