A number of constituents have contacted me about the Pig Husbandry (farrowing) bill.

I would like to start by assuring you that I care very much about the welfare of all animals and the Government is currently examining the evidence around the use of cages for farm animals in order to consider options.

British agriculture has among the highest welfare standards in the world, and all livestock farms must comply with comprehensive environmental and animal welfare legislation. I am pleased that a new code of practice for the welfare of pigs has now been published. This new code sets out the highest standards on how to keep pigs, using the latest scientific and veterinary advice to safeguard and enhance welfare standards. I urge all farmers and those in the industry to take full heed of this.

I am also pleased to confirm the UK is already ahead of most pig producing countries in terms of non-confinement farrowing, with around 40 per cent of our pigs housed outside and not farrowed with crates. You may also like to know that since 2018, CCTV has been mandatory in all slaughterhouses. My Ministerial colleagues have committed to continuing to focus on maintaining world-leading farm animal welfare standards through both regulatory requirements and statutory codes.

While I listened with interest to what my colleague, Sir David Amess MP, had to say on this subject when he brought forward his recent 10 Minute Rule Bill, Ministers have been clear that it is their ambition for farrowing crates to no longer be used for sows. Indeed, the new pig welfare code clearly states that “the aim is for farrowing crates to no longer be necessary and for any new system to protect the welfare of the sow, as well as her piglets.”

It is important that we make progress towards a system that both works commercially and safeguards the welfare of the sow and her piglets, and that we do so as quickly as possible. I know that this Government has set itself a challenging agenda of animal welfare issues that it will tackle and is taking action on many fronts to improve the health and wellbeing of farm animals. A major example is the commitment to end excessively long journeys for live animals going for slaughter and for fattening.

Our country’s high animal welfare standards are something to be proud of and will continuously be maintained and improved. Of course, if you do have specific concerns about the welfare of an animal, I would recommend reporting it to the police or to the RSPCA who can investigate and take action where necessary.