Animal rights groups said they were concerned that such a deal, involving the mutual recognition of standards, would prevent the UK government from banning the importation of foie gras from suppliers in France and elsewhere.
Asked whether the government was still committed to a ban on importing foie gras in light of a potential veterinary agreement with the EU, a spokesperson for the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs said: “We won’t be commenting on this one.”.
Abigail Penny, the executive director of Animal Equality UK, said: “Every year, millions of terrified ducks and geese endure unbearable suffering for foie gras, force-fed until their livers swell to the size of a small football.
She said: “Labour has already pledged to ban foie gras imports – a promise that could be impossible to keep under a strict EU veterinary agreement.
“Any action that risks or restricts an outright ban on foie gras imports would fly in the face of the Labour party’s electoral promise and insult the animal-loving people across the UK.
