UK government drops bill to end live animal exports

Rishi Sunak’s government has ditched a bill that would effectively have banned the export of live farmed animals for fattening and slaughter.

In a statement to the House of Commons on Thursday 25 May, Defra farming minister Mark Spencer confirmed the government was dropping the Kept Animals Bill.

Mr Spencer told MPs that while animal welfare “has been a key priority of the government”, the legislation “risked being extended far beyond the original commitments in the manifesto”.

See also: Government proposes ban on live animal exports for slaughter

But he insisted the government would be “taking forward measures in the Kept Animals Bill individually during the remainder of this parliament”.

The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation said it was disappointed by the government’s decision to drop the bill.

Its patron, Conservative MP and former Defra secretary Theresa Villiers, told Mr Spencer she had been campaigning for a ban on live exports for more than two decades and she appealed to the government to introduce a new bill to “ban this cruel trade”.

The Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto promised to ban live exports for slaughter and fattening.

And during the Conservative Party leadership election, Mr Sunak said he looked forward to “championing” the bill that would ban live exports from Britain.

Divided reaction

The Labour Party and the Lib Dems accused the Conservative government of performing a U-turn by dropping the bill.

The Humane Society International said the “betrayal” showed the “low priority that government places on animal welfare”.

However, the NFU, NFU Cymru, Ulster Farmers Union and other farming organisations have warned banning live animal exports would pose a risk to agricultural trade.

Frank Langrish, a sheep farmer based in Rye, East Sussex, and a former NFU council member, said: “The issue has always been that there is no difference between an animal that is being sent for breeding than one that is being sent for slaughter – they have to comply with the same rules and regulations.

“Ever since the UK left Europe, no live animals have left on the short sea crossing from Dover to Calais, or Dunkirk because there are no border control posts.

“However, some high-value breeding animals have been going on the very long route via Ireland, which is illogical.”