Jim Paice MP
Minister of State for Agriculture and Food
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
LONDON
SW1P 3JR

17 November 2010

Dear Jim,

Animal welfare and intensive farming

I am writing to you to raise three timely and important issues regarding intensive farming.

First, I understand that the Government is considering a postponement of the ban on beak trimming of laying hens, which was due to be outlawed from the 1st of January next year. I was joined by 196 Members in signing EDM 260, which calls on the Government, if it postpones the ban, to set a new commencement date. I would like your assurance that the Government will respect the 1st of January date or, failing that, a specific new commencement date be included in any statutory instrument introducing postponement. If a postponement is expected I would like to be advised of the grounds for the decision.

Second, I have grave concerns about the proposed mega-dairy in Nocton. Given the unprecedented change that such a large-scale industrial plant would make to UK milk production, I urge you to strengthen DEFRA's cattle welfare code to require that dairy cows have access to pasture during the grass growing season and to discourage the drive to excessive milk yields. I further call on you to make it clear that the Government is opposed to the development of industrial scale dairy farming based on no cattle grazing, and to demonstrate this by introducing legislation which requires cows to have access to pasture in the summer. This has been done in Sweden.

Third, I am pleased that the Government is seeking to protect British consumers and poultry farmers from the import of battery eggs illegally produced in Member States after the EU ban starts on the 1st of January 2012. Despite it being tabled in 1999, a number of southern and eastern EU Member States continue to produce large numbers of battery eggs and are not expected to meet the EU ban's deadline. I am sure you agree that battery egg production is an outdated, cruel, and unnecessary practice. I therefore call on you to strongly oppose new proposals that the EU Egg Marketing Regulation allow the sale of battery eggs in the Member State they are produced in. As the vast majority of eggs produced in Europe are for domestic consumption this would leave those countries not respecting the ban with little incentive to improve their practices. Further, please resist any proposals to adapt the EU egg marketing codes to cover battery caged eggs after January 2012. Until the end of 2011 the lowest level of the three EU egg production codes will cover both enriched caged eggs and barren battery cages. After this date barren battery caged eggs will not be covered by the code, making it impossible to market them in the EU. I think that proposals for a new, forth level of EU egg marketing code to cover barren battery eggs after the 1st of January 2012 should be stongly resisted by the Government.

I look forward to hearing your response to the concerns I raise.

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Lucas MP, Brighton Pavilion