The Government remains firmly committed to maintaining high animal welfare standards. Compliance with animal welfare standards is monitored by Defra’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) who conduct inspections to check that animal welfare standards are being met. Further details of results of inspections and trigger report analysis is published in the MANCP report which details findings from previous years.

The Government has carried out an assessment and, as part of the recent consultation on laying hen cage reform, sought views on that assessment. The consultation also sought additional evidence on how the proposals will affect egg production costs and current levels of imports and exports. We are now analysing the consultation responses and will publish a formal response in due course.

This Government will always consider whether overseas goods benefit from an unfair advantage and any impact on UK producers. Where necessary, the Government will use the full range of powers at the Government’s disposal, including permanent quotas, exclusions and safeguards.

The Government has carried out an assessment and, as part of the recent consultation on laying hen cage reform, sought views on that assessment. The consultation also sought additional evidence on how the proposals will affect egg production costs and current levels of imports and exports. We are now analysing the consultation responses and will publish a formal response in due course.

This Government will always consider whether overseas goods benefit from an unfair advantage and any impact on UK producers. Where necessary, the Government will use the full range of powers at the Government’s disposal, including permanent quotas, exclusions and safeguards.

The Government has carried out an assessment and, as part of the recent consultation on laying hen cage reform, sought views on that assessment. The consultation also sought additional evidence on how the proposals will affect egg production costs and current levels of imports and exports. We are now analysing the consultation responses and will publish a formal response in due course.

This Government will always consider whether overseas goods benefit from an unfair advantage and any impact on UK producers. Where necessary, the Government will use the full range of powers at the Government’s disposal, including permanent quotas, exclusions and safeguards.

A UK-wide consultation on laying hen cage reform was launched on 12 January 2026 and closed on 9 March 2026. The Government is now analysing consultation responses and will publish a formal response in due course.

Under the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, eligible poultry keepers have had access to capital grants to support the transition away from enriched cages. The Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare Grant, which closed to final applications on 28 April 2026, provides funding contributions towards infrastructure projects for commercial laying hen and pullet keepers in England to refurbish or replace housing, including for those moving from colony cages to high-welfare non-cage systems. Additionally, the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, which closed its fourth and final round on 12 May this year, offered grants up to £25,000 for equipment and technology to support higher welfare production. We continue to work with industry and wider stakeholders on how the Pathway can encourage cage free systems of farming.

Under the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, eligible poultry keepers have had access to capital grants to improve welfare in laying hens. The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, which closed its fourth and final round on 12 May this year, has offered grants up to £25,000 for equipment and technology to support higher welfare production. Earlier this year, we also announced funding to deliver on-farm Poultry Biosecurity Reviews, which launched on 2 June 2026, to build resilience against Avian Influenza and other threats. We continue to work with industry on how the Pathway can support high standards of animal welfare including simplifying and rationalising any grant funding from 2027 onwards.

The Government recognises the benefits of day-zero sexing technology and will engage with technology companies and the egg industry to fully understand the merits of all systems and when they may become commercially available.

The Government is analysing consultation responses and will publish a formal response in due course.

As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy for England (see attached), this Government is committed to encouraging industry to end the practice of male chick culling. While there are no current plans to provide direct financial support for the introduction of egg sexing technologies, Defra has funded research into dual breed chicken use which removes the need to kill male chicks.

Under the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, eligible poultry keepers have had access to capital grants to improve welfare in laying hens. The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, which closed its final round on 12 May, offered grants up to £25,000 for equipment and technology for higher welfare production. Earlier this year, Defra announced funding to deliver on-farm Poultry Biosecurity Reviews, expected to launch summer 2026, to build resilience against Avian Influenza and other threats. Defra continues to work with industry on how the Pathway can support high standards of animal welfare including simplifying and rationalising any grant funding from 2027 onwards.

A 2024 Natural England risk review [see attached] concluded that there is a very high likelihood that captive-reared mallards will be exposed to highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 after release. Once exposed, there is a very high likelihood of widespread morbidity and mortality in wild birds. The review concludes that captive-reared juvenile mallards have potential to act as both a reservoir and amplifier of H5N1 and to play a major role in H5N1’s continued persistence and dissemination.

The release of captive-reared mallards is already prohibited in Protection Zones, Surveillance Zone and Captive Bird Monitoring Controlled Zones. Releases are also prohibited in Avian Influenza Prevention Zones with housing measures.

Defra is not aware that a habitats regulations assessment (HRA) has been carried out for the release of Mallards (for shooting) on Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in England.

This Government is considering the available evidence on the impacts of gamebird and mallard release and shooting in England, including Natural England’s report The risks from H5N1 to wild birds from captive-reared mallard, published on 24 June 2024. This Government will also engage with the sector and other stakeholder groups as this work progresses. This work is helping to inform consideration of whether further measures, including licensing, may be needed in relation to the release of captive-reared birds.

The Government continues to work closely with all livestock sectors as they face higher input costs particularly for fuel, energy, and fertiliser.

At the March 2026 meeting of the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), Defra and the Devolved Governments decided to closely monitor the price and availability of these key inputs in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The UKAMMG monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments including international conflicts and extended unfavourable weather. The Group meets monthly, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.

As stated in the recently published Animal Welfare Strategy Defra will encourage industry to end the practice of culling male laying hen chicks. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in a range of technologies that could help end the routine culling of male chicks by identifying or determining the sex of chick embryos before hatching as set out in the Animal Welfare Committee’s ‘Opinion on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industries’. Whilst ‘day-zero’ systems are not yet commercially viable, Defra continues to follow developments in the space closely.

The Department has had wide ranging discussions with animal welfare organisations and other stakeholders on laying hen cage reform, including conversations relating to egg imports.

As set out in the UK’s trade strategy, the Government will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage. Where necessary, the Government will be prepared to use the full range of powers at the Government’s disposal to protect the UK’s most sensitive sectors.

A UK-wide consultation on laying hen cage reform was launched on 12 January 2026 and closed on 9 March 2026. The Government is carefully analysing the consultation responses, and the next steps will be announced when the analysis is completed.

Ammonia from poultry farms contributes to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution concentrations across the country. The precise contribution is difficult to assess and will vary according to the prevailing weather conditions and other sources of PM2.5. Long term exposure to fine particulate matter is associated with a number of serious health conditions. Intensive poultry farms with a capacity of 40,000 poultry places or more require a permit under the Environmental Permitting Regulations, to control their emissions into the environment.