UK Government's animal welfare strategy a step forward - But import loophole must be closed

Animal Policy International welcomes the Government's new Animal Welfare Strategy, particularly the commitment to consult on phasing out cages for layer hens and farrowing crates for pigs as a step forward for animals in the UK. 

However, API warns that these domestic advances risk being undermined by a "loophole" that allows lower-welfare imports to flood the UK market, particularly as the UK-EU "Reset" proceeds. Closing this gap is crucial to supporting British farmers through the transition and to ensure UK animal welfare commitments are meaningful rather than simply shifting cruelty abroad.

Whilst the Strategy says regarding trade, that the Government will “promote the importance of high animal welfare standards and best practice as part of our bilateral and international relations”, the Strategy lacks firm provisions to stop lower welfare products entering the UK. API highlights already that:

• Ukrainian battery cage eggs are entering the UK tariff-free, a 15x increase from the previous year

• 99% of pork imported to the UK is from sow stall systems in the EU, US and Canada

• Fur from farms that would be illegal to operate here is sold on UK high streets

The cage-free commitment for laying hens is the most significant UK animal welfare policy in years. Combined with action on farrowing crates, it shows the Government is serious about improving conditions for farmed animals.  Applying the same rules to imports makes it easier for British farmers to transition to higher‑welfare systems, prevents them being undercut, protects their livelihoods, and ensures our nation’s animal‑welfare commitments are meaningful and not merely symbolic.

The UK-EU Reset risks locking in lower welfare imports

The UK’s current negotiations (the UK-EU "Reset") for a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU carry a particularly significant risk: aligning with EU food safety rules could force the UK to accept imports with lower animal welfare standards. While the Strategy asserts about the negotiations, “we have been clear about the importance of being able to set high animal welfare standards,” it fails to address how the UK will prevent or restrict products that do not meet these standards.

API is calling on the Government to follow the "Swiss Model." In its 2025 agreement with the EU, Switzerland successfully secured a carve-out preserving its right to restrict imports based on animal welfare standards.

This matters for the announced fur working group too. Without a carve-out in the agreement, any recommendation to ban fur imports could be blocked by UK trade commitments.

The Government's own Trade Strategy commits to maintaining "UK levels of statutory protection in relation to animal welfare." Securing a similar carve-out in the CVA is how to deliver on that commitment – and how to make the ambitions in today's Animal Welfare Strategy meaningful in practice.  It would also uphold the wishes of the public - the Strategy highlights that during the consultation “Around 1 in 3 UK respondents identify maintaining animal welfare standards as one of their top five priorities in trade negotiations with non-EU countries.”

Mandy Carter, Co-Executive Director of Animal Policy International said, "We're genuinely pleased to see this level of ambition on cages and farrowing crates – this is what the public wants and what animals need. But the job isn't finished. If we don't close the import loophole, we're asking British farmers to compete with one hand tied behind their backs, and we're simply moving cruelty offshore. The Swiss got a carve-out in their agreement with the EU earlier this year. We need the Government to do the same in the EU negotiations. That's what will make the fur working group meaningful and allow us to finally align our imports with our values."

The full media release is available here.