Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
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 merits of banning the sale of fur in the UK at the end of the transition period.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
I refer the hon Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Totnes on 30 June 2020, PQ UIN 62631.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to sustainably rebuild hen harrier populations.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to securing the long-term future of the hen harrier as a breeding bird in England. The Hen Harrier Action Plan sets out what will be done to increase hen harrier populations in England and includes measures to stop illegal persecution. The long-term plan was published in January 2016 and we believe that it remains the best way to safeguard the hen harrier in England. A copy of the plan is available at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/491818/hen-harrier-action-plan-england-2016.pdf.
We are working in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, including Natural England, moorland communities, conservation organisations, police and landowners, to implement the joint Hen Harrier Action Plan to improve the conservation status of the species.
This year Natural England has recorded the best year for hen harrier breeding in England since Natural England’s hen harrier recovery project was established in 2002. In England in 2020 there were 24 hen harrier nesting attempts recorded. Nineteen of these were successful and 60 chicks have fledged.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to review the potential merits of a ban on fur in response to evidence from Spain that mink fur farms can act as a reservoir for covid-19.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government shares the British public's high regard for animal welfare. Fur farming has been banned in England and Wales since 2000 (2002 in Scotland and Northern Ireland). While fur farming is legal in some EU countries, there are strict rules in place to ensure that animals kept for fur production are farmed, trapped and killed humanely.
During the transition period, it is not possible to introduce restrictions relating to the fur trade. Once our future relationship with the EU has been established there will be an opportunity for the Government to consider further steps it could take in relation to fur sales.
In relation to the outbreaks of COVID-19 on mink farms in Europe, keepers are taking this seriously and implementing disease control measures, which include culling the animals on affected farms and ensuring that these animals will not be used for fur.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that religious exemptions for the slaughter of meat and poultry are (a) maintained and (b) protected.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government accepts the right of Muslims and Jews to eat meat killed in accordance with their religious beliefs.
Since 1933 there have been provisions in UK law that permit the slaughter of animals without prior stunning in order to meet Jewish and Islamic religious requirements.
The Government has adopted stricter national regulations over the years which ensure extensive protections for animals slaughtered without stunning in accordance with religious rites. These are set down in the Welfare of Animals at Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015. These regulations continue to ensure that religious exemptions are maintained and protected.