The minister made the announcement in response to a written question in the House of Commons today.
NFU chief poultry adviser Gary Ford said: “The NFU has always said that January 2016 would have been too early to introduce a ban on beak trimming. We believe that a continuation is in the best welfare interests of laying hens so we are pleased that the Minister has listened to ours and the industry’s concerns.
“The NFU supports and is actively involved in ongoing industry work to better understand what the trigger points are that cause injurious feather pecking.
“The industry will continue its work with welfare groups, such as RSPCA and CiWF, and Defra in exploring ways in which we can work towards an industry that does not need to rely on beak trimming, but where bird welfare is not compromised.”
More...
- Watch the minister's comments, here
- Read how Mr Eustice was acting on advice from the industry-wide Beak Trimming Action Group, here
- Find out more about the NFU’s work on beak trimming here
- To keep up-to-date with the NFU poultry team's work and industry news, click here