The Shark Fins Bill is a private member’s bill that would ban the import and export of detached shark fins and shark fin-containing products in Great Britain, with routes available for conservation-related exemptions. It would also extend an existing prohibition on shark finning in place for UK fishing vessels to all fishing vessels operating in UK waters. The House of Lords is scheduled to debate the bill on 24 March 2023.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its longest drought in 40 years. Compounded by high food prices and political instability, this has led to 36.4 million people suffering from hunger across the region, and 21.7 million requiring food assistance. Although a famine has yet to be officially declared, it is projected to occur in 2023. Humanitarian aid, including from the UK, has already been provided but there are appeals for increased support.
COP15 is an international biodiversity conference held under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). COP15 ran from 7 to 19 December 2022 in Montreal, Canada. A key outcome of COP15 was the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This set out global goals to address ongoing biodiversity loss. This briefing summarises the conference outcomes and the UK’s other work on biodiversity preservation.
In Focus
In 2022, the UK has experienced its largest outbreak of bird flu, and experts have warned that infections could rise even higher over the winter of 2022–23. The outbreak has led to the death of 97 million birds globally (3.8 million in the UK), with significant consequences for agriculture and the environment. In response, the UK government has imposed mandatory housing for all poultry, amended its culling compensation scheme and relaxed the sale regulations of defrosted poultry.
Research Briefing
The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill would create a new regulatory regime for plants, animals, food and food products developed through precision breeding technologies, removing them from the current regime for genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
In Focus
The world is currently experiencing a food crisis. UK consumers are also facing rapid food price inflation. Both the UK government and international bodies, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have identified climate change and biodiversity loss as major contributing factors to food insecurity in the UK and around the world. This briefing considers the nature and extent of this impact and government policies to improve UK food security.
Research Briefing
The Marine Protected Areas (Bottom Trawling) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill by Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative). The bill was introduced in the House of Lords on his behalf by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party). Amongst its provisions, the bill would require the secretary of state to make provision in regulations “to regulate and limit” the use of bottom trawling in marine protected areas, including a general prohibition on bottom trawling with the possibility for exceptions to support small-scale fisheries in areas where the practice would not cause serious environmental damage.
In Focus
The UK and India are currently negotiating a free trade agreement. In July 2022, the House of Lords International Agreements Committee published a report on the government’s negotiating objectives. The report welcomed the aspiration to secure a trade deal with India. However, the committee was critical of some aspects of the negotiating objectives as vague, high level and, in some cases, unachievable. The report also criticised the speed of the negotiations, which the government wants to complete by October 2022.
In Focus
There has been notable scrutiny of the link between health and food, including in 2020 by an ad hoc committee in the House of Lords. It found that the UK food system was failing to enable people to make healthy and affordable dietary choices. This briefing examines those findings and the challenges faced by both consumers and the UK agri-food sector, and the government’s policy response.
In Focus
Agricultural fertiliser and feed prices have increased significantly in recent months. The price rises have been driven largely by global pressures including increased demand, the war in Ukraine and higher energy costs. Record prices are pushing up costs for farmers as well as for consumers via the cost of produce and animal products. The government has announced a range of measures in response, including more frequent payment of subsidies and a sustainable farming initiative.
Current Affairs Digest
The UK government has recently changed the process for the approval of field trials for gene-edited crops in England. This article examines the safety of the new technologies in question, and how regulatory changes may affect their use.
In Focus
Pig farmers have faced a number of pressures in recent months, including labour shortages and rising costs of production. The National Pig Association has described the situation as a “crisis”. This article summarises the findings of a recent House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report on labour shortages in the farming sector. In addition, it explores reaction to the government’s package of support measures for the pig industry.
In Focus
Threats to UK trees have risen due to factors such as globalisation and climate change. The government has responded with a tree health resilience strategy, an England trees action plan and an updated plant biosecurity strategy. However, certain pests and diseases remain high-risk, including ash dieback. Several organisations are seeking to breed ash trees that are resilient to the disease and the government has published a strategy for preserving ashes.
In Focus
The 2019 Conservative Party manifesto included commitments to protect the natural environment and improve animal welfare. However, the Government has yet to fulfil its manifesto commitment to introduce legislation banning imports of hunting trophies. The Government has proposed changes to the ways in which natural landscapes are managed following the 2019 landscapes review. It has also said it is considering measures to permit greater use of some gene-edited organisms in agriculture.
In Focus
The Game Birds (Cage Breeding) Bill [HL] would make it an offence to keep pheasants or partridges in raised laying cages or battery cages for the purpose of producing eggs. Currently, the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes recommends that barren raised cages for breeding pheasants and small barren cages for breeding partridges should not be used, and any system should be appropriately enriched.
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