Today, Animal Policy International (API) Co-Executive Director Mandy Carter has sent a letter to the newly appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, urging the government to introduce legislation that would protect UK farmers and uphold the nation’s animal welfare standards in international trade.
The letter comes in response to the government’s recent commitment to “Protecting farmers from being undercut by low welfare and low standards in trade deals” as part of their new deal for farmers. While API strongly supports this commitment, we emphasise that without binding legislation, such promises risk becoming mere rhetoric in the face of international trade pressures.
Read the full letter below:
The Rt. Hon Steve Reed OBE MP
20th August 2024
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
2 Marsham St
London
SW1P 4DF
By email
Dear Steve,
Congratulations on your appointment as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. I am writing from Animal Policy International (API). API works to ensure the UK’s food and animal welfare standards are upheld in international trade. We look forward to supporting your department’s crucial work in safeguarding Britain’s food security and rural economy during this pivotal time for UK agriculture and trade policy.
We strongly support the government’s recently announced commitment to "Protecting farmers from being undercut by low welfare and low standards in trade deals" in your new deal for farmers. This pledge is a vital step towards ensuring a level playing field for British farmers and upholding the UK’s animal welfare standards. To be truly effective, however, this commitment needs to be underpinned by robust legislation. It’s heartening to see this critical issue given the priority it deserves in your department’s agenda, and we urge you to translate this commitment into enforceable law to provide lasting protection. In order to aid this, I’m pleased to share a legal review on the legality of such a measure (attached).
Upholding UK standards
Britain has historically set the pace for animal welfare standards worldwide, with bans on practices like sow stalls for pigs (1999) and battery cages for egg-laying hens (2012). However, the continued import of products from systems using such practices undermines these important standards and places British farmers at a competitive disadvantage. For instance, almost all pork imports to the UK in 2023 came from countries that still allow sow stalls for part of the sow’s pregnancy, a practice banned here since 1999.
By addressing this issue, your department has the opportunity to support our agricultural sector while maintaining our commitment to high welfare standards. This is particularly crucial given recent trends in UK agriculture. For example, the UK saw an 8% decline in egg production in 2022, followed by a 10% drop in 2023, while imports increased significantly. The ongoing free trade agreement negotiations with India, the world’s third-largest egg producer, raise further concerns. In India, 80% of eggs come from battery caged systems - a practice banned in the UK since 2012. Without robust protections, we risk an influx of eggs and egg products from such low-welfare systems.
Looking forward
While we applaud the commitment to protecting farmers, we strongly urge you to consider enshrining these protections in primary legislation, rather than relying on provisions within individual FTAs. Legislation would provide a consistent, comprehensive approach that applies across all trading partners, rather than a piecemeal strategy that could leave gaps in protection. This approach would also future proof our standards against potential changes in future trade negotiations.
Moreover, such legislation could help mitigate the potential negative impacts of recently signed trade deals, such as those with Australia and the CPTPP. These agreements have raised significant concerns about the influx of products from lower welfare systems. The previous government’s own impact assessments suggest that the Australia trade deal may result in losses of £94 million for British agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Comprehensive legislation could help level the playing field and protect UK farmers from unfair competition, even in the context of these existing agreements.
There is clear precedent for such legislative action. The EU’s ban on seal product imports, upheld by the WTO, demonstrates that import restrictions based on animal welfare concerns can be compliant with international trade rules. Similarly, California’s Proposition 12, which prohibits the sale of pork from pigs kept in cruel confinement, has been implemented effectively and recently withstood a challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court. These examples show that such measures can be both legally sound and practically enforceable.
Legal Review
To further support this approach, we have recently commissioned independent legal advice from international trade law experts on the feasibility of import restrictions based on animal welfare grounds. This analysis, which can be found here, provides a strong foundation for the legal viability of such measures under WTO law and the UK’s obligations under its free trade agreements. The opinion concludes that import restrictions to uphold animal welfare standards can be justified under the public morals exemption provided for in GATT Article XX.
By implementing comprehensive import standards through primary legislation the UK can set a global benchmark. This approach would protect British farmers from unfair competition, meet public expectations, and ensure UK consumption doesn’t fuel practices we’ve pledged to end. Adopting this stance allows us to uphold our ethical values and show other nations that economic success need not come at the cost of animal welfare.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet and support your team in developing legislation that protects both British farmers and animal welfare standards.
Yours sincerely,
Mandy Carter
Co-Executive Director
Animal Policy International
