HC Deb 11 April 1974 vol 872 cc619-20
9. Mr. Whitehead

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now make a statement about the Government's intentions concerning the ban on the export of live animals, following the publication of the O'Brien Report.

12. Miss Fookes

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce legislation to ban permanently the export of live animals for slaughter.

Mr. Peart

The hon. Members know that the interested parties are being consulted and that for the time being we shall not resume export licensing. I am unable to make any further statements until the views of the interests concerned are known.

Mr. Whitehead

Is my right hon. Friend aware that many of us on both sides of the House very much regret the recommendations of the O'Brien Report? Is he further aware—I say this in the friendliest way—that in this Parliament the Government have no chance of stopping the ban on the export of live food animals should they propose to do so?

Mr. Peart

I hope that my hon. Friend, whose views I know well, will recognise that I must consult all organisations. There may be a debate before a decision is reached.

Miss Fookes

I recognise the Minister's need to consult, but will he bear in mind that any attempt to resume these exports will be met with my implacable hostility and, I hope, that of many of my hon. Friends.

Mr. Peart

I understand the hon. Member's views and take note of them.

Mr. Ronald Atkins

Is my right hon. Friend aware that many of us who have studied the export of live animals find some conclusions in the O'Brien Report incredible? We are concerned not merely with the transit but with the fact that when they are exported these animals are slaughtered in conditions which would not be accepted in Britain.

Mr. Peart

The matter is being discussed and I am meeting various organisations. It would be wrong to comment on the report.

Mr. Hooson

Is it not a fact that the O'Brien Report does not bear out the misgivings expressed by hon. Members about this trade? Is the Minister negotiating with his colleagues in the Common Market to ensure that there are proper safeguards, so that those who are worried about this issue can be assured and the trade can continue?

Mr. Peart

I must have consultations with the Community on the latter point. For the moment I have stated my position and I must wait before making a statement. As I have said, there may be a debate.

Mr. Winterton

Is the Minister aware how disappointing his answer will be to the farming industry, which wants an immediate removal of the ban? I am sure that he accepts that agricultural wages are ridiculously low in this country and that the workers have a special case. Unless farmers can make a profit they cannot pay their farm workers more money. By imposing the ban the Government have reduced the farming industry's profitability.

I am one of the few Members of this House who has bothered to go to Europe with a consignment of cattle, and I agree with the report that there is little evidence of any general ill-treatment of animals either on the way or in the slaughterhouses on the Continent.

Mr. Peart

The hon. Member is being unreasonable in demanding a statement of approval this morning. Parliament made a decision on this matter. I think I am adopting the right course of action.

Forward to