(CB) [V]:...Here I
divert briefly to my own experience of once running a smallholding
in Somerset. We went into pig breeding and were lucky enough to
have a local abattoir that dealt with our animals
in a quick, precise and compassionate way. I remember being
completely shocked on my first, nerve-racking trip to the
abattoir, with two of my favourite pigs rattling
around in the back of the trailer. We were early and had to wait,
and I was amazed that outside the door to the
slaughter room were four pigs happily snoozing in
a companionable heap. This was as stress-free as it could be, the
food miles were minimal and I was able to sell the meat in complete
confidence that the animals had had a good life and a good
death.
There has been a long-term decline in the number of
abattoirs in this country. According to the
All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, there were
30,000 in 1930; that dropped to 249 in 2017, a 99% decrease. Of
those, 25 are in danger of being shut. The alternative is huge
abattoirs where animal welfare is low on the
list and the distances need to be extensive and thus increase the
stress and cost. I believe you cannot have a local food economy
if you do not have a means of taking your animals to market.
I urgently recommend that the Government look at funding to
restore local abattoirs within reach of most
people, to ensure that we have a thriving economy. There are
interesting examples globally that we could follow, such as the
mobile abattoirs now introduced in France, New
Zealand and Australia. We have one based in Nottinghamshire that
believes its service can aid animal welfare and meat quality. It
is something worth looking at...
(Con):...The United Kingdom is already a world leader in animal
welfare, and the Government are committed to retaining that status
by maintaining and indeed strengthening our standards. My noble
friend Lady Hodgson and the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, were
correct about the symbiotic relationship between animal health and
welfare, a point also made by my noble friend . I
assure my noble friend Lord Shrewsbury that the current wording in
the Bill is inclusive and provides for funding measures that
support both animal health and welfare. The clause allows us to
give assistance to make improvements in animal health without there
also having to be a welfare benefit, or to welfare without there
being a health benefit. An example of animal health without welfare
improvement is enrichment through the provision of mechanical
brushes for cows, while another might be the proximity of smaller
slaughterhouses to reduce the number of miles that
cattle have to travel, even if that does not necessarily enhance
their health. The noble Lord, , is correct to point out that
we intend to provide financial assistance in both areas. His
illustration of a Venn diagram of how, when health and welfare
interact, they are a smaller part of the whole was quite
powerful...
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