§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will meet his French counterpart to discuss the Eid el Kebir festival and the steps being taken by the French Government to enforce the law relating to animal slaughter; and if he will make a statement; [108651]
(2) if he will prevent the export of sheep destined for the festival of Eid el Kebir; and if he will make a statement. [108650]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 7 February 2000]: The Government have no legal power to ban the export of livestock to another member state (in this case France) because of the way they may be treated there. The French authorities are responsible for enforcement of EU welfare rules in France, and we have drawn their attention to the very serious breaches of welfare rules that have occurred during this festival in recent years.
As the European Commission have responsibility for ensuring that member states implement and enforce the rules my right hon. Friend the Minister has written to the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection pressing very hard for suitable action to be taken.