§ Baroness Anelay of St. Johnsasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answers by the Lord Donoughue on 5 May (WA 51–52)
- (a) what discussions have been held since 1 May 1997 to formulate a European Union strategy on promoting higher global standards of farm welfare standards;
- (b) what strategy they believe the European Union should adopt;
- (c) what are the results of the discussions held to date, including those in relation to products of animal origin (for example, eggs) being imported into the European Union. [HL1859]
§ Lord DonoughueNo discussions were held on this subject before the UK launched a discussion under its presidency, initially in the working group for EU Chief Veterinary Officers in April 1998. In Her Majesty's Government's view, the overriding aim must be to achieve a wider multilateral consensus on farm animal welfare: the EU's strategy should be to work for this through whatever international fora it identifies as the most suitable, as well as in bilateral negotiations with third country suppliers. We intend to drive this subject forward, though in view of the complex range of interests involved it is bound to take a while to develop an EU position.
§ Baroness Anelay of St. Johnsasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answers by the Lord Donoghue on 5 May (WA 51–52)
- (a) which European Union member states do not have Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) equivalents;
WA 180 - (b) to which European Union member states they have commended the setting up of FAWC equivalents since 1 May 1997;
- (c) what have been the results of their commendations to date. [HL1860]
§ Lord DonoughueSo far as we are aware, the member states which have bodies analogous to the Farm Animal Welfare Council are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and the Netherlands. It would be presumptuous to expect that the commendation we give to the FAWC model would in itself lead other governments to set up similar bodies, but we hope that over time it will contribute to this end. The honourable member for Scunthorpe in another place, the Minister for Fisheries and the Countryside, commended the FAWC model to the chief veterinary officers of all the member states when he addressed them recently; all the FAWC's reports are sent to the other member states, enabling us to highlight the value of the council; and the chairman and members of the FAWC have our support in seeking opportunities to demonstrate their worth to other governments, in the EU and beyond.