§ Clive EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to impose penalties on airlines and ferry companies whose passengers are found to have brought illegal meat imports and animal products into the United Kingdom. [103757]
§ Mr. MorleyWe are working closely with the airlines to get our message across to passengers arriving in the UK from non-EU countries through announcements, in-flight videos and printed information. We have no immediate plans to impose penalties on airlines and ferry companies whose passengers are found to have brought illegal meat imports and animal products into the UK.
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she will take to ensure that all imported meat complies with United Kingdom animal welfare standards before being slaughtered. [103876]
§ Mr. MorleyWTO rules currently only permit the prohibition of goods on grounds of threat to human, animal or plant health. Restrictions based on the method of production are not permitted and could put us in breach of WTO rules. The ED is committed to animal welfare and negotiated to have non-trade concerns included in the Doha mandate, thereby ensuring that the issue of farm animal welfare is taken into account as part of the current Agreement on Agriculture negotiations. We will also support the Commission on developments following their recently published report on animal welfare standards in third countries.