Brexit Archives

Farm animals antibiotics data raises post-Brexit trade fears

Source: The Guardian

Use of antibiotics on farms in US and Canada about five times the UK level, says report…

The overuse of antibiotics on farm animals is rife in some of the key countries with which the UK is hoping to strike a post-Brexit trade deal, a new report shows, raising fears that future deals will jeopardise public health and British farming.

The US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada all allow farmers to feed antibiotics routinely to livestock to make them grow faster, and in the US and Canada farm antibiotic use is about five times the level in the UK, data compiled by the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics shows.

Meat produced in this way is cheaper, because the animals grow faster and can be kept in overcrowded conditions. But the meat is soon to be banned in the EU, for safety and public health reasons.

Read full article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/01/farm-animals-antibiotics-data-raises-post-brexit-trade-fears

Brexit guru: if you want high food standards “you should never have left the EU”

The man once known in Westminster as the ‘Brexiteers’ brain’ has told the Financial Times that if we are going to insist on stringent animal welfare and environmental standards for imported food, we “should never have left the EU.”

This will come as a surprise to many farmers who voted to leave but didn’t expect to find themselves competing with low-cost imports produced to a lower standard.

The FT’s report has charts that show only the Americans spend less of their income on food than we do. In addition, UK farmers make less that 1 per cent return on capital employed, compared to between 6 and 12 per cent for all the other links in the food chain. To reduce this further would put many out of business.

A no deal exit would be extremely damaging to the farming sector, but even if an FTA is struck, Britain faces a crucial decision about its food supply outside the EU. The terms agreed with other countries will determine the level of competition farmers will be faced with from foreign suppliers.

Read full report by Yorkshire Bylines: Brexit guru: if you want high food standards you should never have left the EU

Read full FT report (subscription required): Coronavirus: UK farmers face brutal test ahead of Brexit

8 out of 10 people feel that animal welfare laws should be upheld or strengthened post Brexit

Thirty-six animal welfare organisations [1] are warning that the UK Government risks public dismay if it waters down animal protections in UK law post-Brexit [2], following on from a public outcry in late 2017 over weakening animal sentience law. [3] New research released today reveals that more than 8 out of 10 people (81%) think that animal welfare laws should be maintained or strengthened post-Brexit, while only 2% feel it might be acceptable to have weaker animal protections.

The warning comes as a new #BetterDealForAnimals campaign is launched, to make sure that animals don’t become victims of Brexit. The campaign is calling for animal sentience to be explicitly enshrined in UK law, as it is in the EU, and for any future legislation or Government policy to fully take into account its impact on the welfare of animals. Without this, the UK Government’s current planned legislation will weaken protection for animals across the country.

For further information……click on full article link.

Credit: Wildlife and Countryside

Full article: https://www.wcl.org.uk/warnings-of-public-dismay-as-animals-become-victims-of-brexit.asp

Whole Health Agriculture

Tag: Brexit

Farm animals antibiotics data raises post-Brexit trade fears

Brexit guru: if you want high food standards “you should never have left the EU”

8 out of 10 people feel that animal welfare laws should be upheld or strengthened post Brexit

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