§ Angela SmithTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to prevent live554W sheep being exported from the United Kingdom for slaughter in France at the Eid-el-Kebir festival; and if he will make a statement. [25641]
§ Mr. MorleyA judgment against the United Kingdom in the European Court of Justice has made clear that there are severe constraints on our power to prevent the export of livestock because of the way they may be treated in the Member State of destination. We are however considering the position. We will in particular be contacting the French government to seek their assurance that steps will be taken to prevent a repeat of the sort of scenes that have occurred with the Festival of Eid-el-Kebir in recent years.