Sheep sector concerns over the recently agreed UK/Australia trade deal have been 'undermined and insulted' by recent comments from the Trade and Agriculture Commission.

To the evident anger of National Sheep Association chief executive Phil Stocker, the TAC's assessment of the deal suggested that the differences between the two nations' farming standards were not significant, and that UK industry concerns had thus been 'over exaggerated'.

Mr Stocker responded: “Serious health and welfare issues such as mulesing (the removal of skin from the rear of a lamb to prevent soiling and potential parasite infection), transport distances, space in transit, and antibiotic use have been dismissed as minute details that are over exaggerated by UK sheep producers. Not only does this attitude of the TAC undermine the extremely high welfare standards UK producers uphold but is an insult to UK consumers, who value our product and it’s high production standards.

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“Segregation in supply chains could well ensure goods imported to the UK may be produced to accepted standards but it does little to affect wider production standards in Australia," insisted Mr Stocker. "The TAC assessment compares welfare standards to cost only rather than considering the values demanded of UK farmers by UK consumers.”

He continued: “I was highly offended to hear the chair of the TAC, Professor Lorand Bartels, state that the farming industry had overreacted to the risks of the trade deal. As a major stakeholder in this deal, the NSA’s overarching assessment was that there was likely to be very little immediate risk, but that the deal was opening UK sheep farmers to levels of risk in years to come considering the political, climate, and trade related volatility that we are seeing globally. The new deals with Australia and New Zealand combined give the theoretic possibility of these countries supplying the UK's total sheepmeat consumption."