To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek to persuade his EC counterparts to change the classification of animals from agricultural products to sentient beings; and if he will make a statement.

I fully accept that animals need proper care and must not be treated in the same way as inanimate goods. Rather than press for a new classification, however, the Government prefer to concentrate on negotiating tangible and enforceable welfare safeguards in the Community on protection of animals on farms, during transport and at the place of slaughter.