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1694725

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Poultry: Animal Welfare
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Animal Welfare Committee report Opinion on the welfare implications of different methods and systems for the catching, carrying, collecting and loading of poultry, published in March 2023, whether they have any plans to introduce the recommendation contained in that report to amend the law so that "it is legally permitted to lift chickens, and turkeys weighing less than 10-kg, by two legs".
	tabling member printed	Lord Trees
	uin	HL3136
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2024 answer text <p>The Animal Welfare Committee Opinion on the welfare implications of different methods and systems for the catching, carrying, collecting and loading of poultry was published in February 2024. We are carefully considering its findings before deciding on next steps and are working with the Welsh and Scottish Governments to ensure a consistent approach across Great Britain.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 28/03/2024 14:12:43 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	4260 label Biography information for Lord Trees

1518479

	registered interest
	date	26/09/2022
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Poultry: Animal Welfare
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what progress the Animal and Plant Health Agency has made in its investigation into the deaths of millions of factory farm chickens during heatwaves in summer 2022; when the results of the investigation are expected to be published; and what plans they have to prevent future such events.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	uin	HL2321
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/10/2022 answer text <p>The Animal and Plant Health Agency is supporting local authorities in investigating what took place on individual poultry units. Ongoing investigations are confidential as any information released may prejudice any potential legal action in the future.</p><p>HM Government takes breaches of animal welfare legislation very seriously. Prior to and during this summer's heatwaves, we reiterated advice to livestock keepers to ensure their contingency plans took full account of the need to protect health and welfare during hot weather. We are very concerned about the significant mortalities in broiler chickens that occurred. We are discussing what happened with the poultry sector and looking carefully at what measures could be put in place in future to help prevent a recurrence of mass mortalities and improve broiler chicken welfare.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 10/10/2022 16:36:16 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1542227

	registered interest
	date	15/11/2022
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Poultry: Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to change the requirement for ducks to be swabbed before each movement and instead require only a visual inspection.
	tabling member constituency	Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
	tabling member printed	Dr Dan Poulter
	uin	87813
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2022 answer text <p>Defra requires assurance that birds, poultry products or materials associated with their keeping are not affected by avian influenza prior to them being moved out of disease control zones. Testing for avian influenza prior to movement is not required outside disease control zones.</p><p>Ducks can be sub-clinically infected with avian influenza and clinical inspection alone would not provide sufficient evidence that birds were not infected hence swabbing and negative results from diagnostic testing undertaken at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) avian influenza national reference laboratory are required prior to each movement as a condition of a movement licence being granted. However, we do not require testing of day-old ducklings prior to movement because we can rely on the success of hatching of a batch of ducks to indicate whether avian influenza is present in the eggs.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 21/11/2022 19:28:51 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter

1224456

	registered interest
	date	14/07/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Poultry: Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) effectiveness of duck welfare regulations for commercial duck farms; whether he plans to increase those welfare standards after the transition period; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Yorkshire
	tabling member printed	Sir Greg Knight
	uin	73721
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2020 answer text <p>The Government's ambition is to raise our already high animal welfare standards still further, as new research and evidence emerges and we are currently reviewing priorities for farm animal welfare reform.</p><p>The welfare of ducks is currently provided for in the general provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007. Defra also has a statutory duck welfare code which encourages high standards of husbandry for the keeping and breeding of farmed ducks, including requirements for suitable housing, stocking rates and the provision of feed and water.</p><p>In addition to legislation, the main farm assurance schemes have standards in place which their members must also comply with, which set requirements to ensure the health and welfare of commercially produced ducks.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 20/07/2020 18:20:23 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	1200 label Biography information for Sir Greg Knight

1327647

	registered interest
	date	24/05/2021
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Poultry: Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the French and German Governments' decision to end the killing of day-old male chicks in the egg production sector; whether the Government plans to bring forward similar legislative proposals; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
	tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
	uin	6330
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2021 answer text <p>We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and we continue to explore ways to enhance our position as a global leader.</p><p> </p><p>The killing of day-old male chicks from the egg production sector is used to provide a valuable food source for reptiles and raptors. We are aware that alternatives to culling male laying hen chicks are currently being investigated by a number of research establishments around the world. A few systems are being used in commercial hatcheries in some EU countries, including France and Germany, but are not yet scaled up enough to meet the demands of the entire industry. We will be assessing the success of these systems.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 02/06/2021 14:56:03 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

1138678

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Poultry: Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to encourage (a) supermarkets, (b) restaurant chains and (c) hotel groups to sign up to the European chicken commitment.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	276519
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government shares the public’s high regard for animal welfare, and the welfare of our farmed livestock in all systems is protected by comprehensive and robust legislation. After we leave the EU we will look to strengthen our world class welfare standards as new research and evidence emerges. In England, we intend to develop publicly funded schemes for farmers to deliver animal welfare enhancements beyond our high regulatory baseline that are valued by the public, but not sufficiently rewarded by the market. We also want to provide greater transparency and certainty for consumers, so that they have a clear understanding of the animal welfare standards applying to products. We note that the European Chicken Commitment initiative is also promoting enhancements beyond the regulatory baseline and we look forward to seeing how this voluntary initiative progresses.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 17/07/2019 14:40:12 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1128525

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Poultry: Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage supermarkets to stop selling eggs from hens kept in enriched cages before 2025.
	tabling member constituency	Harlow
	tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
	uin	257736
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>I am aware that all major supermarkets have committed to stop selling eggs from hens kept in enriched cages by 2025. This is a voluntary initiative and as a result it is not necessary for the Government to take steps to help ensure they meet that target. The Government shares the public’s high regard for animal welfare and the welfare of our farmed livestock in all systems is protected by comprehensive and robust legislation.</p><p> </p><p>Consumers can make an informed choice as, under Commission Regulation (EC) 589/2008 laying down detailed rules as regards marketing standards for eggs, it is a requirement to include an indication of the farming method on the packs and the eggs themselves.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 257735 question first answered 10/06/2019 14:16:19 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1128524

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Poultry: Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to help ensure that supermarkets which have committed to stop selling eggs from hens kept in enriched cages by 2025 meet that target.
	tabling member constituency	Harlow
	tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
	uin	257735
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>I am aware that all major supermarkets have committed to stop selling eggs from hens kept in enriched cages by 2025. This is a voluntary initiative and as a result it is not necessary for the Government to take steps to help ensure they meet that target. The Government shares the public’s high regard for animal welfare and the welfare of our farmed livestock in all systems is protected by comprehensive and robust legislation.</p><p> </p><p>Consumers can make an informed choice as, under Commission Regulation (EC) 589/2008 laying down detailed rules as regards marketing standards for eggs, it is a requirement to include an indication of the farming method on the packs and the eggs themselves.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 257736 question first answered 10/06/2019 14:16:19 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1642330

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2023
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Poultry: Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on reducing the use of cages for hens.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	187959
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2023 answer text <p>The egg sector is making good progress in moving away from cages. The proportion of eggs that come from caged hens has steadily decreased from 47% of total throughput in Q4 2017, to 21% in Q1 2023.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to work with retailers and producers to ensure we maintain and enhance the high standards of animal health and welfare we have in this country, including on our farms. The Government’s animal welfare priorities for its Animal Health and Welfare Pathway include supporting producers to transition away from confinement systems.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 19/06/2023 14:41:39 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1455940

	registered interest
	date	30/03/2022
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Poultry: Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made representations to the devolved Administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on the use of banning cages for laying hens.
	tabling member constituency	Solihull
	tabling member printed	Julian Knight
	uin	150192
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2022 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 23 March 2022 to the hon. Member for Brighton, Kemptown, PQ UIN <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-02-25/129859" target="_blank">129859</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 20/04/2022 07:43:07 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight