Partridges: Animal Welfare

(asked on 14th July 2020) - View Source

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 has taken to establish welfare outcomes for breeding partridges farmed in metal cages; what his policy is on the amount of time that a partridge can be kept caged without compromising its welfare; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 22nd July 2020

The Government shares the public’s high regard for animal welfare and is examining the evidence around the use of cages in farming, including their use for breeding partridges and pheasants. We are exploring the options and will work with the industry to improve animal welfare in a sustainable way.

The welfare of gamebirds is currently protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering. This is backed up by the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes, which recommends that barren cages should not be used for breeding birds and that any system should be appropriately enriched. Keepers are required by law to have access to, and be familiar with this code, which encourages the adoption of high standards of husbandry. Failure to observe the provisions of a code may also be used in support of a prosecution.

Defra does not hold information on mortality rates for breeding pheasants and partridges or their offspring.

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