The Green Party has gone to war with Labour over a new animal welfare law that changes how farm workers can hold chickens. The niche row was sparked when the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced a change to the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Regulations, which would permit chickens to be lifted by both legs together, along with turkeys up to 5kg.
The existing code already allowed for the handling of animals this way, but EU regulations created a potential legal inconsistency. Despite expert advice allowing it, 69% of respondents in a consultation objected and demanded that all poultry be carried upright, though industry groups prefer the leg-catching on the grounds it shortens catch times and makes workers’ jobs easier. The Green Party’s co-leader Adrian Ramsay is now leading a charge to block the change, sparking mockery from the Tories.
Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins joked: “You couldn’t make it up. As people are worrying about job cuts, higher taxes, a crashing economy, the family farm tax and record levels of small boat crossings, Labour is arguing with the Greens on how to carry a chicken.
“Whilst we wait for the socialists to stop winging it and finally decide how to handle a bird without ruffling feathers, we can all see that they are running out of ideas.
“There’s much more than chickens that they need to learn how to grip.”
Mr Ramsay insisted that the change amounts to an attempt by the Government to “quietly weaken animal welfare standards”, trying to restore an “outdated industry practice”.
He added: “I want our animal protection laws to be improved, not stripped back further. If handling methods widely used on farms don’t meet welfare standards, then they need to be improved, not made legal because enforcement has failed.
“I will be working with MPs across the House to oppose this statutory instrument and stand up for stronger, not weaker, protections for farmed animals.”