𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Labour MPs have warned the Government that a trade arrangement with the EU should not come at the expense of animal welfare. The UK government is to break a 2024 general election commitment to ban foie gras imports after the EU made these red lines in its discussions for a trade deal.

But Navendu Mishra, Labour MP for Stockport, said: “Foie gras production relies on force-feeding practices that cause significant animal suffering – it is only right that our import rules reflect the standards of animal welfare we uphold at home. In my view, the Government should ensure that any trade arrangements do not come at the expense of animal welfare.”

Foie gras is made by force-feeding ducks and geese grain through a funnel or tube that has been thrust down the bird’s neck – a process known as gavage that swells the animal’s liver to many times its normal size. The livers are then harvested.

EU member states are not allowed to ban one another’s products on animal welfare grounds.

Since the UK left the EU, it has had the freedom to restrict imports of EU products, but so far has not done so.

Now, under a trade agreement expected to be firmed up in the autumn, the UK will once again need an exemption from EU law to ban these products.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds seemed to confirm thatfur and foie gras import bans will be dropped to secure a deal with the EU in an interview with the Guardian.

She said: “The prize is big. “We can talk about the detail, but the overall prize here is to bring down the barriers at the border, and the friction and the cost and the administrative burden that the previous Tory government’s botched Brexit deal, has left us with.

“We know that there are many small businesses that gave up exporting altogether to the European Union, and many big businesses just face terrible delays, or just uncertainty.”

But Former minister Kerry McCarthy said: “The last Labour Government decided more than 20 years ago, quite rightly, that foie gras production was inherently cruel and should be banned in the UK. Most consumers, once they’re aware of the cruelty involved, agree, and want to see an end to the loophole that allows inhumane imports into the country.

“I hope the Government will stand firm and secure this in the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) trade negotiations.”

A Government spokesman said: “The UK is proud to have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world, and for the last two decades foie gras production using force feeding has been banned.

“Conversations on our new food and drink deal are ongoing, but we have been clear on the importance of retaining high animal welfare standards as part of any deal.”