Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they insist on animals being raised in a way that conforms to animal welfare standards in the UK when they fund international projects involving farming.

The Government closely monitors the application of environmental, social and governance standards in the multilateral institutions in which it is a shareholder. We are committed to upholding high animal welfare, food safety and environmental standards in all our international projects involving farming. The policies implemented are bespoke to each country, but we are clear that we will seek to raise animal welfare standards wherever possible.

The Government also plays an important role in ensuring that multilateral institutions focus on animal welfare in their work. For example, the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office has worked with the World Bank's International Finance Corporation on its "IFC Good Practice Note on improving animal welfare", which is now being used by many development finance and private sector investors.