§ Mr. KeenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to stimulate the domestic market for bull calves; if he is actively considering encouraging the establishment of alternative rearing systems or introducing tighter animal welfare systems; what help is being offered to United Kingdom farmers to assist in establishing a realistic animal friendly alternative that would help to end the continental trade in live animals for veal production; and if he will make a statement. [32425]
§ Mrs. BrowningThe United Kingdom has since 1990 banned close confinement systems of veal rearing, and we are now working hard to achieve agreement to raise the less exacting minimum standards which apply at European Union level.
Only a minority of bull calves born in the UK are exported live. None-the-less a move from live exports to the value added business of producing meat in the UK makes sense in the long run. The Ministry is encouraging this through research into improving the quality of dairy bread beef, and work with the Meat and Livestock Commission to promote beef exports.
We are also funding a demonstration unit on welfare friendly veal at the ADAS research centre at Rosemaund, near Hereford. The aim of this unit, which opens later this month, is to show how to produce veal under systems which conform to the UK's high welfare standards.