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 plans to take to increase standards for the care and protection of animals after the UK leaves the EU.

The Government has been very clear that our departure from the EU will not lead to a lowering of our high animal welfare standards.

Our regulatory system will offer at least the same level of assurance of animal welfare following our departure from the EU as it does now. The EU Withdrawal Act will ensure that existing EU standards are maintained once we leave the EU, and we are actively exploring options for strengthening the UK system moving forward. This includes plans to increase maximum penalties for animal cruelty from six months’ to five years’ imprisonment.