Written question asked by Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 4 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 June 2026. It was answered by Angela Eagle (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Sheep: Animal Welfare
- Question
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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of banning tail docking and castration of lambs.
- Answer
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As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, the Government is committed to working with the sheep sector to implement the advice and recommendations in the Animal Welfare Committee’s Opinion on the Implications of Castration and Tail Docking for the Welfare of Lambs and to update the Sheep Welfare Code.
The Government has carried out an assessment regarding changes to the rules around lamb castration and tail docking. The assessment concluded that banning lamb castration and tail docking was not the correct approach and instead the government consulted on other proposals to improve lamb welfare during the procedures. The Government is now analysing consultation responses and will publish a formal response in due course.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 7005
- Session
- 2026-27
- Related items
- Subjects
- Animal welfare Sheep
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-07-15 17:08:22 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/7005
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/7005
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/7005