LIVE EXPORT OF ANIMALS - EU FREE TRADE RULES

That this House is aware that recent statistics have revealed that in 2012 over 47,000 young calves and sheep were exported live from the UK to fattening farms and slaughterhouses abroad causing huge amounts of suffering to the animals concerned; notes that this practice operated despite the enactment of Article 13 of the EU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which required member states in formulating and implementing EU policy on agriculture, transport and the internal market to pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals; and believes that following the recent referendum, the Government has been given the opportunity in any future trade negotiations to uphold this consideration in its deliberations and to desist from reasoning that any actions to change such practices would be illegal under EU free trade rules.