Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of mandatory animal welfare labelling for products from pasture-fed livestock on (a) farmers and (b) consumers.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
On 12 June 2025, we published the summary of responses and the Government response to the fairer food labelling consultation, which was undertaken last year by the previous government. The response is available here on GOV.UK.
We will consider the potential role of method of production labelling reform as part of the ongoing development of the Government’s animal welfare strategy.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with devolved Administrations on the consistency of on-farm animal welfare inspections across the United Kingdom.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Animal welfare is a devolved matter in the UK. This means that responsibility for animal welfare policy in the individual nations is the responsibility of the relevant nations’ Ministers.
However, Defra works closely with the devolved Governments on a range of shared priorities and will discuss any relevant matters as necessary such as animal welfare inspections.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the uptake of (a) outdoor farrowing and (b) other higher welfare rearing systems for pigs.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving the lives of farm animals and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway supports farmers to improve the health and welfare of their livestock through funded vet visits as well as targeted grants such as the Animal Health & Welfare Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF25). The FETF provides grants to farmers, including pig keepers, of between £1,000 and £25,000 towards the cost of a list of equipment items that deliver improvements in the health and welfare of their animals. The item list includes kit specifically intended to improve and upgrade pig housing such as outdoor farrowing arks, automatic curtain systems and LED lighting. This follows the FETF24 offer in which funding for over 800 farrowing arks was claimed by pig keepers. We continue to work with industry as part of the Pathway to encourage improvements in pig welfare.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) population status and (b) ecological role of curlews.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is the main scheme for assessing the population changes of the UK’s breeding birds. This publication presents trends for breeding bird populations in the UK and for each UK country, showing population changes. The latest Breeding Bird Survey (BTO-JNCC-RSPB BBS Report 2024) shows a 51% decline in the UK’s curlew breeding population between 1995 and 2023.
The latest review of Birds of Conservation Concern (bocc-5-a5-4pp-single-pages.pdf) assessed those bird species that breed or overwinter in the UK. This review, compiled by a coalition of the UK’s leading bird conservation and monitoring organisations, placed the curlew on the red list due to severe population declines.
Curlew fulfil several ecological roles, to include biodiversity indicator, invertebrate control, and ecosystem engineer. Beyond their ecological importance, curlew are also an important part of the cultural landscape of the UK.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the devolved Administrations on coordinated approaches to monitoring curlew populations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has not had discussions with the Devolved Administrations on a coordinated approach to monitor curlew populations.
The UK curlew population is monitored under the British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), an annual monitoring scheme jointly funded by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, BTO and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Population trends for curlew are generated at UK, country and regional levels and shared publicly in an annual report.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Greyhound Board of Great Britain on (a) injury and (b) fatality rates among racing greyhounds.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Each year since 2018 the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has published the sport’s annual injury, fatality and retirement statistics from GBGB affiliated tracks and trainers. This data is published online at https://www.gbgb.org.uk/welfare-care/injury-and-retirement-data/
GBGB wrote to Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 25 June with the sport’s annual injury, fatality and retirement statistics for 2024. The Greyhound Forum, of which Defra officials and GBGB are members, discussed the 2024 figures during the June 2025 meeting of the Forum.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with (a) Blue Cross and (b) other animal welfare organisations on (i) greyhound welfare and (ii) the regulation of greyhound racing.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department is engaging with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of our overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more details on this in due course.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of regulations on greyhound welfare in the racing industry.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Government regards greyhound racing as a well-regulated sport. The welfare of racing greyhounds in England is covered by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 (the 2010 Regulations). The 2010 Regulations include a number of welfare requirements, such as requiring all greyhound tracks to have a veterinary surgeon in attendance to ensure that every greyhound is fit to run.
In addition to these statutory protections, the sport’s main regulatory body – the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) enforces welfare standards (including those in the 2010 Regulations) at GBGB affiliated tracks, as well as at GBGB licensed trainers’ kennels. Independent, external oversight of GBGB’s regulatory work at tracks and trainers’ kennels is provided by the UK’s National Accreditation Body - the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the potential impact of climate-related events on household costs in the next five years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The third Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) was published in 2022 and sets out 61 climate risks and opportunities to the UK up to the year 2100. These risks cover a range of sectors that impact household costs, such as risks to our energy infrastructure, risks from flooding, and risks to agriculture and supply chains.
The Government’s fourth CCRA is due in 2027. It will be informed by the Climate Change Committee’s Independent Assessment (CCRA4-IA) Technical Report, which will consider climate risks to household finances. The Government will set out the actions it will take to address the most recent assessment of climate risks from CCRA4 in the fourth National Adaptation Programme in 2028.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the devolved Administrations on coordinated approaches to monitoring puffin populations.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra provides funding through JNCC to the UK-wide Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP), and the JNCC-led Seabirds Count census which provide UK-wide monitoring for seabirds, including puffins. The results are publicly available and will inform future conservation actions.
The most recent Seabirds Count census (2023) counted 474,679 pairs of puffins. Where comparable data were available, they indicated declines of 23% since 2000, reinforcing the importance of collaboration on seabird conservation.
The devolved Governments are implementing their respective seabird conservation strategies, so we continue to work together to coordinate action and data sharing.