Trade Minister Greg Hands has said Australia can put up a ‘reasonable case' that it has good standards of animal welfare in food production.
In June, the UK agreed a trade deal in principle with Australia, despite warnings from farming organisations and the RSPCA about the country's animal welfare standards.
Australian farming involves a number of practices which are banned in the UK, including keeping hens in battery cages, allowing cattle to be reared in feedlots without shade and mulesing - the removal of strips of wool-bearing skin from around the buttocks of a sheep to prevent flystrike.
Cattle transportation times are also double those allowed in the UK and Australia's use of antibiotics on-farm is significantly higher than the UK's.
But speaking during a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament, called by chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee Neil Parish, Minister Hands sought to allay concerns about the trade deal.
He said: "It is not my job to defend Australian agricultural practices, but it can put up a reasonable case.
"It is rated five out of five by the OIE - the World Organisation for Animal Health - in terms of performance in veterinary inspections.
"Also, Australia bans certain practices… which are prevalent in the EU. For example, the production of foie gras is allowed in the EU; Australia bans it.
"Australia bans the castration of meat chickens and so on, so Australia can put up a halfway reasonable case that it has good standards of animal welfare."
Ignoring
During the debate, Mr Parish accused Ministers of ignoring the advice of the first Trade and Agriculture Commission, which published a report containing several recommendations in March, including only dropping tariffs on imported products which meet the UK's domestic standards.
He said: "We have an agreement in principle with Australia, but we are not clear whether the Government has ever read the report and taken it on board before pursuing a trade deal which directly impacts on our farming sector and the quality of food, both environmentally and in animal welfare.
"It is also as though the Government intends to bypass the advice it commissioned. I am, to say the least, disappointed about that."
