Animal Welfare (Agriculture Committee Report)

Part of Prayers – in the House of Commons at 1:25 pm on 19 November 1982.

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Photo of Mr Peter Mills Mr Peter Mills , Devon West 1:25, 19 November 1982

I am not giving way because I have only a short time in which to speak.

It is all a question of balance. We must get it right, and the Government have tried to do that in their response to the report. The balance must be constantly adjusted. I am in favour of reviews of methods of production and adjustment in the light of new evidence and research. Most farmers are prepared to accept the need for review. They care for their stocks and are intensely humane. The lack of reality in many of the arguments used against methods of production are a source of amazement to most farmers. They cannot understand why some people say they want cheap food and at the same time are not prepared to use modern methods.

It is a quesion of balance and I think that the Government have got it exactly right. I do not accept for a moment the argument that it is a wishy-washy reply. It is a practical reply that is related to the present situation when the Government say: There is no justification for any farming practice which gives rise to unnecessary pain or unnecessary distress. I wholeheartedly agree with that. The Government believe that, whilst the cheapest methods of production may not always be the most appropriate, the likely effects on prices to the consumer must be taken into account both in setting welfare standards and in the timing of any change in standards. There is a great deal of double-talk from Opposition Members. They want cheap food yet they want to change the methods of farming that have brought about the reasonable price that we pay for our food. I repeat: There is no justification for any farming practice which gives rise to unnecessary pain or unnecessary distress.

I should like to highlight one or two matters in the Government's response. There is the question of scientific knowledge and the role of the veterinary profession. I would greatly deprecate any reduction in the funds for animal research and welfare, should such a reduction be made. Those funds must be maintained. I pay tribute to the veterinary profession for what it has done to help in animal welfare and to ease the lot of animals. It is a tremendous advance from the days when I started farming. Animal suffering has been reduced on a great scale through modern methods and techniques which farmers accept and practise. Of course, they do it not only for the welfare of the animals but for reasons of profitability. We must be honest about that.

The eradication of warble fly has ended great suffering. Animals used to have great warts on their backs, with enormous maggots coming out of them. The animals could be seen chasing up and down in the fields because of the pain caused by the warble flies and their maggots. Warble fly infection is almost a thing of the past because of the use of modern methods and techniques.

I recall the terrible problems of scour and dysentery in pigs and poultry. As a result of modern methods of injection and routine prevention, those are things of the past, and there is less and less suffering for the animals.

Farmers have accepted modern methods in their intensive production, so that animal welfare has been greatly improved and suffering reduced. One never hears a word about such matters from those who are opposed to modern methods of farming. It is very sad that they do not put that side as well.

There is not time for me to go through all the various methods of production but I think that the Government's response is about right. However, there is one area about which I am unhappy, and that is veal production. Animals are enclosed in very small pens and subjected to almost forced feeding. That is wrong and it should be phased out. I see absolutely nothing wrong in feeding a calf individually in a small pen in order to be reared for breeding or fattening later on, but where calves are kept under the intensive method, perhaps without any sunlight, that is totally wrong. It is one area of intensive production that should be curtailed and phased out over a suitable period.

Hon. Members should be careful about how far they go down the road of banning production of poultry in cages or intensive pigmeat production. The consumer would suffer. Prices would rise rapidly. I hope that I cannot be accused of sitting on the fence when I say that there is need to ensure that standards are improved and that they are enforced. I support the National Farmers Union in its call for better inspection and severe penalties for those who abuse the welfare codes. Some of us in agriculture are fed up to the back teeth with criticisms that have been made when a first-class job is being done in feeding this country.