Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the 2024 Slaughter Sector Survey, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the number of [a] pigs, [b] chickens [c] cows and [d] sheep that were not stunned before slaughter compared to the last five reported survey years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Regulations require that animals must be stunned prior to slaughter so that they are unconscious and insensible to pain. The only exception to the requirement to stun is where animals are slaughtered in accordance with religious rites. The Government would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.
For sheep and goats, the Government supports an industry-led initiative called the Demonstration of Life Protocol, which provides assurance for Muslim consumers that the stunning of these animals is compatible with halal slaughter requirements, while protecting the welfare of the animals involved and supporting opportunities for trade.
All pigs are stunned before slaughter, in accordance with legislation. As set out in the government’s animal welfare strategy, we will consult on banning the use of carbon dioxide gas as a method of stunning pigs.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the 2024 Slaughter Sector Survey, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the number of [a] pigs, [b] chickens [c] cows and [d] sheep that were stunned before slaughter compared to the last five reported survey years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Regulations require that animals must be stunned prior to slaughter so that they are unconscious and insensible to pain. The only exception to the requirement to stun is where animals are slaughtered in accordance with religious rites. The Government would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.
For sheep and goats, the Government supports an industry-led initiative called the Demonstration of Life Protocol, which provides assurance for Muslim consumers that the stunning of these animals is compatible with halal slaughter requirements, while protecting the welfare of the animals involved and supporting opportunities for trade.
All pigs are stunned before slaughter, in accordance with legislation. As set out in the government’s animal welfare strategy, we will consult on banning the use of carbon dioxide gas as a method of stunning pigs.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2026 to WPQ 103427 about fly tipping, whether the recommendations of the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group will impact fly-tipping policy.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials chair regular meetings of the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group and whilst various aspects of fly-tipping are discussed at these meetings, the group does not develop formal recommendations to Defra. The aim of the group, whose members include various local councils, the Environment Agency, National Police Chiefs Council and others, is to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping. The work of the group informs our evidence base.
The group has developed various practical tools including guides on how councils and others can present robust cases to court, set up and run effective local partnerships to tackle fly-tipping and raise awareness of the household and business waste duty of care. These are available at: https://nftpg.com/.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group last met; and if she will set out the matters that were discussed.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group last met in October 2025. The matters discussed included a policy update from Defra officials, which included an update on the review of local authority vehicle seizure powers, statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance, digital waste tracking and reform of the waste carriers, brokers, dealers and permit exemptions regime. In addition to a broader discussion among members, there were presentations by Fortix AI and Certified Rubbish.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times did the National Fly- Tipping Prevention Group meet during the Calendar Year of 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The National Fly-tipping Prevention Group met twice in the 2025 calendar year.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has spoken to the [i] Local Government Association and [ii] District Councils Network to understand the [a] levels and [b] nature of complaints made to local authorities about animal rescue and rehoming centres.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department maintains regular contact with key stakeholders, including the Canine and Feline Sector Group, which brings together leading welfare charities, veterinary bodies, trade associations and representatives from local authorities. Through this forum, Defra receives up-to-date intelligence on emerging issues and operational challenges.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs during Environment, Food and Rural Affairs questions on 13 November 2025, Hansard col 291, on what date does she plans to publish the animal welfare strategy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out by the Prime Minister, we will publish our Animal Welfare Strategy this year which will set out our priorities for animal welfare.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2025 on WPQ 90372 on Agriculture: Subsidies, what plans her department has to (a) conclude and (b) publicise the outcomes of their work on future agricultural grant funding models.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are working to simplify and rationalise our grant funding from 2026 onwards to ensure they are targeted towards those who need them most and where they can deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. We will communicate more on future grants in due course.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to consider legislative and non-legislative options to take forward changes to low-welfare activities abroad.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.
We continue to engage with stakeholders including the tourism industry and animal welfare groups to explore both legislative and non-legislative options to stop the advertising of low-welfare animal activities abroad.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she last held discussions with the fruit and vegetable growers sector on the potential impact of the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme on that sector.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is steadfastly committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce. Both Defra ministers and officials host regular discussions with a range of farming stakeholders, including growers, to understand the challenges that they face and how we can best support them.
Legislation introduced in July 2023 effectively closed the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme in England by preventing submission of new operational programmes and the extension of existing programmes which would end on or after 1 January 2026. The sector has been aware of its closure since that time and there has been extensive engagement with officials. The scheme was designed to help fresh fruit and vegetable growers increase their power in the supply chain, but it was only available to Producer Organisations, with around just over 20% of the sector accessing it and the vast majority not benefitting. Future support for the sector will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer.
Moreover, of at least £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme through to 2030, to date nearly £40 million—representing 26% of total awards—has been granted to research projects benefiting the horticulture sector offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Wider Government support that we are providing for horticulture includes: our five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses; as well as extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.