Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether regulation of rabbit farming in the UK is affected by EU legislation; what recent assessment she has made of the (a) standards and (b) reputation of rabbit farming in (i) the UK and (ii) the EU; and if she will make a statement
James Paice (Minister of State (Agriculture and Food), Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; South East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
Council Directive 98/58/EC of20 July 1998on the protection of animals kept for farming purposes sets out a general framework for the protection of all farmed animals, but there is no specific provision for rabbits.
However, in 2005, the European Food Safety Authority produced a report describing housing and husbandry systems and their impact on the health and welfare of farmed domestic rabbits. This report fed into the Council of Europe's draft recommendations concerning the minimum standards for farmed rabbits which are still under negotiation.
The UK has a relatively small rabbit farming industry compared to some EU member states. The keeping of commercially farmed rabbits is adequately provided for by way of the provisions in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations 2007 which contains a specific schedule for rabbits. In addition, DEFRA has a code for rabbits which provides good husbandry advice including recommendations for housing, feed, water and space allowances which should be regarded as absolute minimum.