§ 21. Lady Olga MaitlandTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to promote humane rearing of veal in Europe. [31183]
§ Mrs. BrowningMy right hon. Friend the previous Minister secured the agreement of the European Commission to bring forward from 1997 its review of directive 91/629/EEC laying down minimum standards366W for the protection of calves. The Commission has work in hand and when its report comes forward to the Council, we shall press the case for an early end to the use in the European Union of close confinement systems for rearing calves. In preparation for this, I have visited EU capitals to enlist ministerial support. The response was encouraging.