To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 103635, whether her Department has completed its assessment of avian influenza risks associated with the release of captive-bred pheasants and partridges for recreational shooting; and what assessment...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 103635, whether her Department has completed its assessment of avian influenza risks associated with the release of captive-bred pheasants and partridges for recreational shooting; and what assessment...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of using raised laying cages for breeding pheasants and partridges on the welfare of those birds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of using raised laying cages for breeding pheasants and partridges on the welfare of those birds.

To ask His Majesty's Government which notifiable diseases have been confirmed in (1) pheasants, and (2) red-legged partridges, in the last five years; and whether there is evidence of transmission to wild birds for any of these diseases.

To ask His Majesty's Government which notifiable diseases have been confirmed in (1) pheasants, and (2) red-legged partridges, in the last five years; and whether there is evidence of transmission to wild birds for any of these diseases.

To ask His Majesty's Government for what reason captive bred pheasants released and managed for shooting are considered wild birds under avian influenza rules; and what plans they have to reconsult on this classification.

To ask His Majesty's Government for what reason captive bred pheasants released and managed for shooting are considered wild birds under avian influenza rules; and what plans they have to reconsult on this classification.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of a) pheasants and b) partridges that were released for recreational shooting in (i) 2023, (ii) 2024 and (iii) 2025.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of a) pheasants and b) partridges that were released for recreational shooting in (i) 2023, (ii) 2024 and (iii) 2025.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in light of the presence of Avian Influenza, whether she is going to permit the release of pheasants and partridges into the countryside for recreational shooting in 2026.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in light of the presence of Avian Influenza, whether she is going to permit the release of pheasants and partridges into the countryside for recreational shooting in 2026.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they assessed the risk of infected game meat from highly pathogenic avian influenza in released pheasants entering (1) the human food chain, and (2) pet or zoo meat supplies; and what controls are in place to prevent that entry.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they assessed the risk of infected game meat from highly pathogenic avian influenza in released pheasants entering (1) the human food chain, and (2) pet or zoo meat supplies; and what controls are in place to prevent that entry.

My hon. Friend talks about an additional 1p per egg, but does she agree that some sort of financial incentive or financial reason would be an important factor in increasing the state’s ability to phase out cages and crates? Otherwise, we are not going to see this happen en masse.

My hon. Friend talks about an additional 1p per egg, but does she agree that some sort of financial incentive or financial reason would be an important factor in increasing the state’s ability to phase out cages and crates? Otherwise, we are not going to see this happen en masse.

I agree, and I will later mention that there has to be such support.

Groups of pheasant and pairs of partridges are also kept in breeding cages—again, offering each bird little more room than the size of a sheet of A4 paper. The birds suffer from stress, breeding-related injuries and death....

I agree, and I will later mention that there has to be such support.

Groups of pheasant and pairs of partridges are also kept in breeding cages—again, offering each bird little more room than the size of a sheet of A4 paper. The birds suffer from stress, breeding-related injuries and death....

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for her opening remarks. I want to declare an additional interest as, for three and a half years prior to last July, I was an employee of...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for her opening remarks. I want to declare an additional interest as, for three and a half years prior to last July, I was an employee of...

Like many people in the Chamber, I am wearing a couple of hats. I am the son of a farmer—I declare that interest—but also a member of the Labour Animal Welfare Society. I welcome the hon. Member’s insights as someone with experience of the industry. Farmers have contacted me. My...

Like many people in the Chamber, I am wearing a couple of hats. I am the son of a farmer—I declare that interest—but also a member of the Labour Animal Welfare Society. I welcome the hon. Member’s insights as someone with experience of the industry. Farmers have contacted me. My...

Absolutely. It is important that everybody works together, whether that means the pressure groups, the farmers or the Government.

Sometimes, the two extremes of the debate need to understand each other. These things often seem simpler than they are. We do things on a farm for good reason, and often it...

Absolutely. It is important that everybody works together, whether that means the pressure groups, the farmers or the Government.

Sometimes, the two extremes of the debate need to understand each other. These things often seem simpler than they are. We do things on a farm for good reason, and often it...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for securing this important debate.

The UK is often said to be a nation of animal lovers. Judging by my constituency inbox, Mansfield is very much...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for securing this important debate.

The UK is often said to be a nation of animal lovers. Judging by my constituency inbox, Mansfield is very much...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank the Petitions Committee for calling this important debate and the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for introducing it.

The call to end the cage age of animal farming is clear. It comes not just...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank the Petitions Committee for calling this important debate and the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for introducing it.

The call to end the cage age of animal farming is clear. It comes not just...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on her excellent speech. Does she agree that lots of British farmers, like many in my North Cornwall constituency, are trying to move away from confined systems such as crates, but that until the Government insist on applying UK animal welfare standards to imported food,...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on her excellent speech. Does she agree that lots of British farmers, like many in my North Cornwall constituency, are trying to move away from confined systems such as crates, but that until the Government insist on applying UK animal welfare standards to imported food,...

It is key that if we are going to demand higher standards here, we must apply the same standards to food that we import.

If the Minister truly believes that food security is national security, that needs to be backed up with real investment—not empty slogans or cuts on a spreadsheet,...

It is key that if we are going to demand higher standards here, we must apply the same standards to food that we import.

If the Minister truly believes that food security is national security, that needs to be backed up with real investment—not empty slogans or cuts on a spreadsheet,...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for opening the debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee.

The debate has attracted a lot of interest in my South West Norfolk constituency, where we...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for opening the debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee.

The debate has attracted a lot of interest in my South West Norfolk constituency, where we...

The RSPCA’s assured scheme now accounts for 55% of the UK’s laying hens and 25% of its pigs. Does my hon. Friend agree that that demonstrates that there is increasing public support for higher welfare meat and eggs, even if the cost is slightly higher as a result?

The RSPCA’s assured scheme now accounts for 55% of the UK’s laying hens and 25% of its pigs. Does my hon. Friend agree that that demonstrates that there is increasing public support for higher welfare meat and eggs, even if the cost is slightly higher as a result?

I entirely agree. It is through the good work of organisations like the RSPCA that we can increase awareness of those improved standards.

As I have mentioned in this Chamber recently, and as was reported in The Guardian last week, through freedom of information requests I have found that industrial farms...

I entirely agree. It is through the good work of organisations like the RSPCA that we can increase awareness of those improved standards.

As I have mentioned in this Chamber recently, and as was reported in The Guardian last week, through freedom of information requests I have found that industrial farms...