Animal protection is an issue I care deeply about and have done ever since I was a teenager. It’s one of the causes that took me into politics and to Parliament – a commitment to improving the way we treat farm animals.
Judging by the response from my colleagues to a debate I secured in Westminster Hall, I am not alone. MPs from six parties came to voice their concern about animal welfare on farms and the disturbing growth in factory farming in the UK. There’s a worrying trend towards more and more US-style megafarms. They’ve increased by a fifth in the past ten years and more than 70 percent of animals here are now reared in intensive farming systems where conditions can be shocking.
Millions endure lives of confinement, pain and neglect. Pigs are kept in farrowing crates with little room to move; vast poultry sheds rear fast-growing “Frankenchickens”, selectively bred to grow up four times faster than chickens did in the 1950s, reaching slaughter weight in just 35 to 40 days; salmon raised in offshore salmon farms have high mortality rates – not to mention the pollution they cause.
How we treat animals, whether they are our pets or farm animals, is a reflection of our values as a society. We are supposed to be a nation of animal lovers. Yet this is they are treated.
These intensive, cruel farming practices are not sustainable, they are not ethical and they are not inevitable. And, importantly, they are not what people want. Polling consistently shows strong public support for ending cages, crates and other cruel practices.
Strong local opposition recently succeeded in stopping a planned new megafarm in Norfolk, which aimed to keep a staggering 870,000 chickens and 14,000 pigs confined in barren indoor sheds. But there are many other applications around the country, including in my own constituency, for new or expanded intensive livestock units. That is deeply worrying not only for reasons of animal protection, but also for air and water pollution and the long-term impact on our countryside.
We have a regulator, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, but there is little accountability. Prosecutions for animal welfare violations are extremely rare, averaging only three a year, despite growing evidence of abuse and cruelty in our food system.
The consumer is also being misled. Many people believe that labels such as “Red Tractor” or “RSPCA Assured” guarantee high welfare. But numerous investigations have shown that farms certified under these schemes still use crates, cages and other cruel practices.
That’s not fair to consumers, nor is it fair to those farmers who follow the highest standards yet have no way of differentiating their produce from that produced to much lower standards. They also face relentless pressure from supermarkets who demand higher welfare yet aren’t willing to pay more for it.
We also cannot expect our farmers to follow the highest standards if we continue to allow imports from countries which undermine them. In trade deals with the US, India and the Gulf, there is a real risk that our markets will be opened to products produced in systems that would be illegal in the UK.
This is not just about hormone-injected beef or chlorinated chicken, which grab most of the headlines in news coverage about the trade deal with the US. It’s about food being produced on US megafarms with very low animal welfare standards appearing on our supermarket shelves and under-cutting our own farmers. Imports should have to meet our welfare standards so it’s fair for UK farmers and consumers.
The way we treat farmed animals is not only the biggest animal protection issue we face here in the UK, it is also deeply entwined with the climate crisis, nature loss and the viability of our food systems.
If we are to successfully tackle all these challenges, we need policies from the Government to stop the spread of factory farming. There should be procurement targets to reduce meat from industrial systems, promote more plant-rich diets and reward farmers who are working with, not against, nature.
These are not radical demands; they are practical, evidence-based steps towards a kinder, fairer and more resilient system that reflects the compassion of the public, supports responsible farmers and enhances the UK’s position as a global leader in animal protection.
We must stop the spread of factory farming, rewarding farmers who are working with, not against, nature
