I am passionate about free trade, and so are the farmers in Cumbria and so, I assume, are the farmers in Northumberland. No free trade is really free if it is not fair. When it comes to animal welfare, this deal clearly is not fair. I wonder whether the Secretary of State truly comprehends the astonishing difference in terms of animal welfare standards between farming, and livestock farming in particular, in her own community and in mine compared with Australia. There are staggering and astonishing differences in scale—the fact that we have close husbandry in this country and vast areas and no husbandry in Australia. Moreover, there is the lack of humane standards in abattoirs and also when it comes to the transportation of livestock. Surely this deal undermines our farmers, undermines the standards that we hold dear and throws our agriculture under a bus in order to get a cheap deal. How will she reply to her own farmers who will be as shocked and appalled as I am by much of this deal?
UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement
Proceeding contribution from
Tim Farron
(Liberal Democrat)
in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 5 January 2022.
It occurred during Ministerial statement on UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
706 c77 
Session
2021-22
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Librarians' tools
Timestamp
2023-01-04 15:56:48 +0000
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