One of the delights of a journey down the A303 is the sight of Stonehenge. Traveling west towards the sun the traffic naturally slows past the stones. And that’s an understatement because it often just stops in a long slow que. Just past Stonehenge there is another delight – at least to me. There is a field of free range pigs to the left and stretching off into the distance. It’s mud, straw and huts. Wallowing around are what I would assume to be a great number of happy pigs. My subject is the welfare of farm animals. This is a case where the UK has much to contribute to the EU. Generally standards are higher in the UK than the EU norm. Some argue that this puts the UK at an economic disadvantage. Recently the Government backed down from an attempt to dilute welfare standards.
This is where leaving the EU could put in jeopardy a basic minimum set of standards that we have come to expect. I think we have a responsibility to keep our seat at the table in Europe and argue for continuing improvements across the board. There is a danger that the UK could give up its leadership role if Brexit becomes a reality. Just imagine the bonfire of standards the advocates of the leave campaign would ignite.
John Vincent 