Carrie Symonds' allies clash with Environment Secretary over timetable to ban caged animal farming
- The row has been sparked by the desire of Lord Goldsmith and Victoria Prentis
- But Environment Secretary George Eustice favours a more cautious approach
- He says Britain already has some of the world’s highest animal welfare standards
Allies of Carrie Johnson have clashed with the Environment Secretary George Eustice over the timetable to ban caged animal farming.
The row has been sparked by the desire of Environment Ministers Lord Goldsmith and Victoria Prentis – supported by the Prime Minister’s wife – to end the practice in the UK before it is outlawed across the EU.
But Mr Eustice favours a more cautious approach, arguing that Britain already has some of the world’s highest animal welfare standards and the ban would heap extra costs on farmers.
![The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, of which both Lord Goldsmith and Mrs Johnson (pictured) are patrons, welcomed the EU proposal and renewed calls for Britain to ¿end cages for farm animals¿](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/03/23/45005785-9753451-image-a-48_1625351302247.jpg)
The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, of which both Lord Goldsmith and Mrs Johnson (pictured) are patrons, welcomed the EU proposal and renewed calls for Britain to ‘end cages for farm animals’
The EU announced last week that it intends to propose new legislation to stop the caged farming of animals including rabbits, young hens, ducks and geese by 2023 with a view to the ban being phased in from 2027.
The move came after a petition calling for the ban attracted 1.4 million signatures.
The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, of which both Lord Goldsmith and Mrs Johnson are patrons, welcomed the EU proposal and renewed calls for Britain to ‘end cages for farm animals’. But Neil Parish, the Tory MP who chairs the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee, said British farmers, ‘would likely face higher costs, which in turn makes them less competitive’.
And Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers Union, warned: ‘If the UK Government raises the bar here and does not apply the same approach to import standards, we will simply put UK farmers out of business.’
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: ‘We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and a strong track record for raising the bar when it comes to welfare measures, such as banning battery cages for laying hens, sow stalls and veal crates – and introducing CCTV in all slaughterhouses in England. We are currently examining the evidence around the use of cages for farm animals.’
Under EU law, the caged farming of laying hens, sows and calves is already banned, although hens are allowed to be housed in ‘furnished’ cage systems.
![Mr Eustice favours a more cautious approach, arguing that Britain already has some of the world¿s highest animal welfare standards and the ban would heap extra costs on farmers](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/07/03/23/45005799-9753451-image-a-49_1625351315069.jpg)
Mr Eustice favours a more cautious approach, arguing that Britain already has some of the world’s highest animal welfare standards and the ban would heap extra costs on farmers
A Government source described Mr Eustice’s resistance as ‘very sensible’, adding: ‘Any changes to animal welfare standards in the UK should be based resolutely on evidence. Legislating on the back of Twitter campaigns and petitions is a guaranteed way of achieving the wrong outcome.’
Raising the tension, the insider accused Lord Goldsmith of being ‘too driven by social media’, adding: ‘If one of the animal rights organisations produced a petition, Zac would take it as gospel every single time.’
The row comes amid reports that Government food tsar Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain, will use the second part of his National Food Strategy to recommend Britons massively reduce their consumption of meat to help save the environment.
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