Animal Health and Welfare Pathway: mandatory proposals
Applies to England
Detail of feedback received
We received 353 responses to this consultation. We are carrying out an analysis of the results.
As announced at the UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on May 19 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area, by way of an EU-UK Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (SPS Agreement). This will involve alignment with EU SPS legislation, including EU animal health legislation.
The government published the legislation expected to be in scope of the agreement on 9 March.
As negotiations remain ongoing, we are awaiting the conclusion of this work to allow us to fully understand how the mandatory pathway proposals may be best aligned. Therefore, we are delaying the publication of the summary of responses and government response and intend to publish this in late 2026.
Consultation description
We want to know what you think about proposed new measures to enhance livestock health and welfare in England.
We’re proposing a mandatory:
- annual Animal Health and Welfare Review (vet visit) for cattle, sheep and pigs
- annual flock health plan for sheep
- eradication programme for Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) in cattle
- control and eradication programme for Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) in pigs
Updates to this page
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Justification for delaying the publication of the summary of responses and government response until late 2026.
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First published.