The upcoming UK-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) trade agreement must not lead to an increase in imports of low-welfare meat nor of exports of British-grown animals that are slaughtered without first being stunned, campaigners have warned.
Compassion in World Farming urged the UK government to ensure the “imminent” £1.6bn trade deal struck with the Gulf countries – which is rumoured to be announced in the coming days – does not result in the trade of animal-origin goods produced using a non-stunning slaughter method.
Currently, UK slaughter without stunning is permitted for halal and kosher purposes under a derogation from retained EU law.
The derogation is meant to ensure that religious groups within the UK can consume meat that aligns with their beliefs.
But animal welfare campaigners have warned that the derogation is “not intended to facilitate the export of meat from animals slaughtered without stunning to other countries” like the GCC and that the impending trade deal “must not undermine this important protection”.
“Meat for non-religious communities within the UK should be stunned before slaughter, as required by UK law,” a CWF statement said.
“This derogation must be properly upheld within the UK-GCC trade agreement and the agreement must not lead to any animals being slaughtered without stunning in order to fulfil demand within GCC nations.”
The deal must also not undermine British farmers by allowing the importation of lower-welfare meat products, the group claimed.
Anthony Field, head of CIWF UK, said the campaign body “supports all steps to ensure that UK farmers who continue to meet or exceed UK standards, are not undercut by lower welfare imports”.
“However, we don’t want to see UK farmers succumb to Gulf export pressures to export products from animals that have been slaughtered without stunning for markets in the GCC,” Field added.
Additionally, ministers “must ensure that any agreement does not facilitate the export of live animals for any purpose, given the frequently inhumane slaughter conditions in these countries”.
“We therefore urge government to ensure that the export of live animals and meat from animals slaughtered without stunning are excluded from the terms of the agreement,” he said.
The deal with the GCC nations – including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – has been touted by government by trade minister Douglas Alexander as especially advantageous for the financial services and car sectors.
The UAE, which is the UK’s seventh-largest export market, is also a key market for dairy, chocolate, biscuits and meat exports.
Estimates suggest the FTA to increase UK-GCC by about 16% – but it would still be worth less than 1% of GDP by 2035.
However, campaigners have raised the alarm about a lack of provisions on crucial areas like animal welfare, workers’ rights and modern slavery, as well as environmental impacts.
The NFU also recently wrote to prime minister Keir Starmer to signal the GCC deal would go against the commitment he made at the trade body’s conference to uphold high welfare standards in any UK trade agreements.
They also claimed the way most poultry was produced in Gulf countries would be illegal in the UK.
In the previous UK parliament, the International Trade Committee published a report that highlighted that Gulf slaughter standards were a “genuine” animal welfare concern.
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