§ Lord Hardy of Wathasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action is being taken in regard to the export of sheep or any other farm livestock which are purchased for slaughter within another European Union state in circumstances which are not acceptable under both United Kingdom regulations and Article 9 of European Council Directive 93/119/EC. [HL1387]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Donoughue)While the Government would prefer to prohibit the export of animals in such circumstances, the case law of the European Court has made clear that such an approach is not open to us and that we must look to the authorities in the member state of destination to enforce EU rules on their territory. However, the Government do not believe that British farmers would wish their sheep to be slaughtered in unacceptable and inhumane circumstances: we shall be appealing to the British sheep sector to consider the risk that sheep which they export to the continent at the present time may be slaughtered cruelly during the Eid el Kebir festival on 27–29 March.