The UK is expected to bring in new law banning the use of Great Britain as a land bridge for livestock cross England to reach the continent.
The law is part of the ‘action plan’ for animal welfare and will apply to animals travelling for slaughter or fattening purposes.
Confirming the new law, UK’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said it will not apply to Northern Ireland while the NI protocol is still in place.
Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) said she had serious concerns that any standard applied on British farms would also be applied to imported food products on to the island.
“There are still many practices allowed in countries we are currently negotiating with that are banned here, on welfare grounds.
“For example, it is not uncommon to see journey times for live animals in Australia exceed 24 hours without access to feed or water.
“In comparison, the Government has recently consulted on reducing domestic journey times in the UK to eight hours,” she said.
LSL News.