"Devil will be in the detail" as farmers' livelihoods could be under threat

RSPCA wants animal welfare guarantee as UK strikes new global trade deals

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The RSPCA has cautiously welcomed new free trade deals the UK has agreed with the United States of America and India, but says the ‘devil will be in the detail’ as to whether the UK Government has honoured its promise to safeguard animal welfare. There have long been concerns that a trade deal with the USA could open the UK food market to lower welfare produce such as battery caged eggs, sow stall reared pork, chlorinated chicken or hormone-treated beef. It is illegal to import and use beef produced with hormones or chlorine washed chicken in the UK, while cruel farming practices such as conventional battery egg cage farming and the use of pig sow stalls are banned in the UK. However, these methods are commonly used in states across the USA that export animal products and crucially imports of