RSPCA asks people in Hampshire to contact MPs ahead of animal welfare vote

If successful this would ban the import of products such as chlorinated chicken, pork from pigs reared in sow stalls and hormone beef, which are made to welfare standards that are illegal in the UK.

The amendment aims to maintain welfare standards in post-Brexit trade deals.

The RSPCA warned failure to secure the amendment “could risk setting back animal welfare for many years ahead.”

On Tuesday (22 Sep) the House of Lords voted through an amendment to the Agriculture Bill which would require imports of animal products to meet the same welfare standard in the UK, the Bill will need to go back through the House of Commons, which will take place Oct 7.

RSPCA Chief Executive Chris Sherwood said the government should follow through with their manifesto promise to stop lower welfare standard imports post-Brexit.

He said: “It’s a choice between protecting the UK’s globally-recognised high farm animal welfare standards or allowing in products like chlorinated chicken and hormone beef from abroad.

“With a no deal looking increasingly likely, and the Government desperate to sign trade deals, failure to act now could result in a catastrophic weakening of the hard-won protections for millions of animals in this country and could risk setting back animal welfare for many years ahead. It would also threaten UK farmers’ livelihoods as they would be at risk of being undercut by imports produced to much lower welfare methods than are allowed in the UK.

“Research shows that 83% of people do not want to see imports of food from abroad that are produced to lower standards and tens of thousands of people have signed our petition pressing the government to introduce a law to that effect.

“We need MPs to realise how strongly the public feels about this issue and are urging people to contact their local MP to pressure them to support this law to stop lower welfare imports coming into the UK.”