§ Miss Fookesasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will improve the standards required by the codes of recommendations for the welfare of livestock and poultry; and if he will make them mandatory.
§ Mr. BuchanThough no amendments are immediately in prospect the hon. Member may be assured that we will not hesitate to propose improvements to the welfare codes where, on the advice of the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, we believe them to be justified. We consider that in the present state of scientific knowledge it would be wrong to make the codes enforceable at law.
§ Miss Fookesasked the Minister of of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many research projects on the subject of stress in animals kept in intensive systems have been undertaken by his Ministry directly or by the Agricultural Research Council since the publication of the Brambell Report.
§ Mr. BuchanMy Department has not undertaken work specifically on stress, but 14 studies and investigations into animal behavioural patterns or production systems could throw light on stress factors. I understand that the Agricultural Research Council is currently conducting 22 research projects on stress and that 13 other projects may also prove to be relevant. The total extent of such research by the ARC since 1965 is not readily assessable.