The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee have asked the DEFRA Secretary of State, Rt Hon Dr Thérèse Coffey MP, to address a number of issues further to her recent appearance before the Committee.
These included what progress there was on the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill and what actions she is taking to help UK pork exporters regain access to the key Chinese market.
The letter from the Committee to Ms Coffey included other requests for action or information including on the issues of supermarket profits, the Prime Minister’s planned Food Security Summit, and staff resources in her Department following the Committee’s hearing with the Secretary of State on 28 March.
Dr Neil Hudson MP for Penrith and The Border, Member of the EFRA Committee, and a veterinary surgeon said:
“In our recent hearing with the DEFRA Secretary I asked about the stalled progress of the Kept Animals Bill through Parliament. It is vital that the measures in this Bill are address urgently so we can tackle puppy smuggling, stop the importation of dogs that have been horrifically mutilated by ear cropping, and stop the illegal movement of horses to Europe for slaughter. Our Committee has written to the Secretary of State to push on these and other pressing issues.”
In a letter published today the cross-party parliamentary scrutiny committee explained some of the ongoing issues occurring that could be tackled by the Kept Animals Bill and that some of the UK’s biggest abattoirs surrendered their licences to export to China in 2020 when they had Covid-19 outbreaks in their facilities.
