The Government is 'seriously considering' introducing incentives to further encourage farmers to better their animal welfare standards.
Farming Minister George Eustice bowed down to pressure stemming from the RSPCA and other animal welfare charities to further the animal welfare cause.
Mr Eustice, who made the comments in a parliamentary debate on Tuesday (24 January), said the post-Brexit plans could include financial incentives, such as support for using free range, or pasture grazing systems.
He said that in the past couple of years, a number of countries have been doing 'interesting work' in the area.
“Denmark has developed a voluntary three-tier system for its pig sector to reward producers who show commitment to higher animal welfare standards. The Dutch have a similar system called the ‘better life system’.
“Germany is particularly interesting. It has something called the Tierwohl system, which financially rewards farmers who adopt standards of animal welfare that go above and beyond the regulatory minimum.”
He said the UK is now considering all those ideas.
'8 out of 10'
The debate comes just weeks after a poll by the RSPCA revealed eight out of ten people want animal welfare laws improved or at least kept the same after we leave the EU.
RSPCA assistant director of external affairs David Bowles said: “There’s no doubt that Brexit is going to be a complex issue and a lot of legislation covering farm animals in particular will need to be reviewed, but we are delighted the Government are considering the opportunities Brexit gives to improve farm welfare and also consider rewarding farmers who rear to higher welfare standards.
“We were very encouraged to hear the debate yesterday. A healthy discussion on these complex and extremely important issues is just the beginning, but it is encouraging to see the forward thinking from the Government.”
