MP Neil Parish leads fight against cheap food imports

MP Neil Parish introduced an amendment to the Agriculture Bill last month, supported by the BVA and BCVA, which aimed to protect British farmers from food imports produced to standards not equal to strict EU welfare and environmental regulations required in the UK. What specifically concerns those lobbying in support of the amendment are imports from countries like the US of chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef which are both banned under EU law. The amendment was defeated, and the Bill is with the House of Lords.

Conservative MP and qualified vet Dr Neil Hudson said: “Peers have an opportunity to amend the bill to uphold animal welfare and food production standards in future trade deal – something I deeply regret that the Commons failed to do last month. As an MP, the only vet in the Commons, and a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, I was proud to add my name to the amendment to the bill brought by my colleague and our chair, Neil Parish MP. I voted for the amendment, against the Government, and I have to say I was absolutely gutted that the amendment did not pass. I believe we missed a real opportunity to make a powerful statement from the UK that we can be a beacon in these areas: if you wish to trade with us then you must come up to our high standards in animal health and welfare and farming. Some say that this will complicate any trade deals, but I do not hold with that. Some say this is protectionism, but I do not hold with that either. This is about values. We should show the world where we stand on animal welfare and food production standards and putting it in law does just that.”

A BVA statement read: “We remain hopeful that the bill’s passage into the Lords offers another chance to challenge perceived gaps in the legislation and embed further protections for the benefit of both animal health and welfare, and the UK farming community. As a top priority, the Government needs to set out exactly how it intends to honour its own manifesto commitment to maintain and enhance animal welfare standards after Brexit.”