Farm Animal Welfare Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Lord Rooker
Main Page: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Rooker's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(10 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Lord Benyon (Con)
I agree with my noble friend. She is not taking issue with me; she is pushing at an open door. This is a manifesto commitment and in our animal welfare action plan, and we want to do it.
Lord Rooker (Lab)
Given that the hundreds of millions of food production animals that we eat have to be slaughtered first, should not the public be entitled to know what the method of slaughter is?
Lord Benyon (Con)
We have a very clear set of guidelines, which we have improved in recent years, such as by putting CCTV cameras in slaughterhouses. As the noble Lord will know, the Food Standards Agency oversees this and requires vets to be present. I think his point relates to pre-stun slaughter, and that is an ongoing discussion. We want to work with those groups that want a particular type of slaughter, while recognising that there is a very strong view out there about our knowledge and understanding of what an animal senses in those final moments of its life. We want to make sure that our WATOK rules, as they are called, are absolutely up to date, and I shall continue to keep him informed of this.