Key Facts

• Amendment 11 seeks to change the negative procedure to an affirmative one for clause 6.
• Amendment 31 aims to include provisions for safeguarding the health and welfare of animals in revoked precision breeding confirmations.
• The amendments aim to enhance scrutiny processes for secondary legislation and ensure compliance with animal welfare standards.
• Amendment 33 seeks to change the definition of an animal in clause 10.
• The amendment proposes using section 5 of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 for defining 'animal'.
• Amendment 34, consequential to 33, would remove provisions extending the definition of 'animal' to include further invertebrates.
• The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 defines animals as vertebrates, cephalopod molluscs, and decapod crustaceans.
• Clause 10 of the Genetic Technology Bill currently defines relevant animal as a vertebrate only.
• Amendment 34 is consequential on amendment 33 if accepted.
• Daniel Zeichner is moving amendment 13 in clause 11.
• Amendments propose changes to clause 12 regarding assessments by the welfare advisory body.
• Additional amendments address the Secretary of State's responsibilities under clause 13.
• Clause 11 requires applicants to declare no adverse effects on animal health or welfare.
• The application must include an animal welfare risk assessment detailing steps taken to identify risks.
• Amendments proposed aim at ensuring the advisory body conducts its own welfare impact assessments and considers breeding stock impacts.
• Concerns raised about potential foreign ownership of major players in genetic technology impacting evidence presented to authorities.
• Amendment 13 is deemed unnecessary as it covers administrative and technical details.
• Clause 12 requires the advisory body to report on health and welfare risks identified by notifiers.
• The government intends to engage further with stakeholders to develop secondary legislation and guidance.
• The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill is intended to work alongside existing welfare legislation.
• The speaker seeks trust from the hon. Member for Cambridge and the broader public.
• Zeichner mentions 29 million male chicks killed each year in the UK.
• Peter Stevenson from Compassion in World Farming argues that current legislation does not offer enough protections for animals.
• The National Farmers Union states that the Bill is not the place to consider animal welfare concerns.
• The Bill is seen as an opportunity to address inherent deficits in traditional breeding methods.
• Market forces may incentivize farmers to prioritize yield over animal welfare.
• Amendment 7 seeks welfare reports on whether increased yields would lead to suffering.
• Daniel Zeichner expresses concern over the Bill's lack of assurance that regulatory frameworks will be established as promised.
• Amendments proposed to strengthen Clause 12 regarding welfare advisory body assessments and safeguards for animal health and welfare.
• All proposed amendments are negatived by a vote in committee.
• Clause 14 sets out reporting obligations for precision bred animals.
• Clause 15 allows for suspension or revocation of marketing authorisations based on new information regarding animal health and welfare.
• Amendment 14 proposes changing “negative” to “affirmative” in clause 15, page 10, line 42.
• Amendment 15 seeks to change "negative" to "affirmative" for reviews and appeals.
• Clause 16 deals with review mechanisms for decisions related to precision bred organisms.
• Amendment 19 aims to replace 'may' with 'must' in regulations regarding environmental risk assessments.
• Amendment 16 proposes further parliamentary scrutiny of environmental risk assessments.
• Clause 17 allows regulations setting out details of risk assessment procedures under negative procedure.
• Daniel Zeichner will press amendment 16 and withdraw amendment 19.
• The clause establishes a publicly available register of precision bred organisms.
• The register may include release notices, information from welfare advisory bodies, and details provided by notifiers.
• Commercial confidentiality can limit what is disclosed on the register.
• Amendment 18 seeks to modify clause 22.
• The amendment changes 'negative' to 'affirmative'.
• Zeichner expresses difficulty in understanding how the new regime fits with existing regulatory bodies like ACRE.
• The Department anticipates a range of applications from zero to an upper band of 18.
• Amendment 18 seeks to replace the negative procedure with the affirmative procedure regarding the appointment of the welfare advisory body.
• Clause 25 allows regulations to prescribe adverse effects on animal health or welfare; Zeichner proposes changing 'may' to 'must'.
• The Committee divided and voted against both amendments proposed by Daniel Zeichner.