SOAPBOX | PET GAZETTE | 17
an expensive and timely process which not all
recruiters can afford to take on.
As well as this, EU veterinary professionals
will need to meet the minimum salary
requirement of £30,000 pa in order to be
eligible for a work visa in the first place.
Even if some vets are able to meet this
threshold, the same is unlikely to be said
about other professions who are responsible
for animal welfare in the UK. European
farmhands, technicians, abattoirs and animal
researchers, for example, will no longer be
able to work in such roles in the UK, based on
their average salaries.
With this, all UK farmers will be required
to pay an application charge for every work
visa they want to sponsor, adding a further
financial burden to those positioned in the
industry.
INHUMANE PRACTICES
any profit at supermarkets after Brexit. With
this in mind, most will be less likely to want
to adopt new animal welfare practices at
an extra cost; instead opting to cut costs
wherever possible. Add this to the weakened
pound predicted in the aftermath of Brexit,
and animals will become part of the collateral
damage in a situation where UK farmers
struggle to stay financially afloat.
What’s more, according to a report written
by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
this summer, the UK Farming industry is at
great risk of losing very substantial parts of its
workforce as a result of Brexit. According to the
report, up to 40% of staff on UK farms are from
the EU. This number is even more saturated in
some sub-sectors, with EU labour contributing
to as much as 58% on some poultry farms
during seasonal peaks (such as turkey farms at
Christmas).
Along with this, even more migrant workers
contribute to skilled workforces such as
veterinary staff. A House of Lords report titled
‘Brexit: Farm Animal Welfare’ found that a huge
90% of UK vets originated from the EU.
Leaving the EU risks alienating and losing
significant amounts of EU talent and labour.
This will jeopardise the future of animal
welfare, by placing a strain on the services
which are responsible for maintaining its
future.
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VISA REQUIREMENTS
Nigel Gibbens, chief veterinary officer, picked
up on this point in his recent speech on
‘International trade post-Brexit’. “All I can
say is that you’re essential,” Gibbens told
the EU vets who are currently working in the
UK, “there is no future position we can be in
where we can operate without you”. Further
to this comment, Gibbens also suggested that
the Home Office add the veterinary profession
to the Shortage Occupation List, to make it
easier for British employers to non-UK hire
vets after Brexit.
However, it is unclear what difference this
will make to the future of the vet profession.
According to the most recent immigration
white paper, the strict procedures which
were in place for employers offering jobs to
non-shortage professions have now been
dropped, leaving ‘in-shortage’ employers
no advantage when it comes to visa
sponsorship. What’s more, even if vets are
added to the Shortage Occupation List, this
will do nothing to help resolve the inevitable
gaps which will be left in the industry.
According to the white paper, EU nationals
arriving in the UK after Brexit will be subject to
exactly the same visa regulations as non-EU
migrants. This means employers will still need
to make a Sponsor Licence application in
order to sponsor EU work visas in the future –
All we know now is that Brexit will spell the
end of the current animal welfare regulations
held in the UK. However, we do not know
yet whether this will be a positive or negative
for the future of animal welfare in Britain.
While some, like David Bowles of the RSPCA
have suggested that “Brexit offers huge
opportunities to give animals a better deal in
the UK”, it debatable as to whether the current
government has any interest in doing so.
In November, an amendment to the
Agriculture Bill was debated in parliament,
which suggested a total ban on all imports
of foie gras. Foie gras involves the force-
feeding of young geese and ducks and its
production in the UK has been banned since
2000. However, due to free trade laws, the
UK is still able to import foie gras from places
like France and it is served in many upmarket
British restaurants.
Unfortunately, this proposition was not
taken forward by the government and, while
some are being hopeful about our new-found
freedom over animal welfare laws, there is
a concern that this is only a sign of things to
come.
Since we can no longer rely on the EU for
our trade and policies after Brexit, animal
rights need to be fought for if we want to
continue to evolve and treat our animals with
respect and kindness.
This article has been written by Luna
Williams, the political correspondent at
the Immigration Advice Service. This is
an organisation which provides Brexit
advice and visa application services in
the UK.
March 2019