For a long time as British farmers we have been able to shout from the rooftops that we genuinely have some of the best farming systems and practices in the world, and with that the best animal welfare standards.
One of the biggest fears for me if we came out of the EU was how we were going to maintain these standards and care for our animals. These fears are already coming true.
Standards on the farm have dropped now the UK has decided not to follow new legislation which bans a number of things.
The first of these is “using antibiotics to compensate for poor animal welfare” — this legalisation would essentially make intensive farming much harder to do because you could not treat animals with antibiotics so they could be kept in poorer conditions.
Personally, I ask myself why would you do that anyway. If this legalisation was accepted like it was in the EU then I believe it would be a massive deterrent to farming in this manner.
The second legislation not to be accepted covers the routine use of antibiotics on farms, including preventative group treatments. Again, I ask myself why, when this is something we as farmers have been working towards for a long time.
It’s been a huge goal in most sectors to really cut down on antibiotic usage, not only to produce better food but also to play our part in reducing antibiotic resistance — part of a picture that goes far beyond our industry.
Widespread use of antibiotics is the main driver of resistance and therefore one of the biggest threats to the health of both humans and animals. We have known for a long time now that reducing usage in farming is critical, yet here we are.
The third piece of legislation not to be agreed by the UK is the ban on importing meat and animal products produced with growth promoters.
This has been banned in the UK and the EU since 2006, and for good reason.
Not using growth promoters is another thing our livestock farmers pride themselves on, because it means our meat is free of substances that are far from ideal for our animals and consumers.
However, this latest decision allows meat to be brought into this country which does not comply with the standards we stick to. I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall at just how idiotic and contradicting this really is.
I feel this is a slippery slope. For so long we have been leading by example and shown the world that animal welfare and our farming standards are our number one priority.
We have shown that we really truly care about health, quality of life, the environment and producing decent food.
Once again the Government is not listening to the voice of the country’s farmers and we are left feeling powerless.
