Animal and plant health

Status / emerging findings

• Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) has systematically failed: foot and mouth disease import bans were auto-cleared for 6 days due to digital failures (Jan 2025); over 338 tonnes of illegal meat seized at Dover; Germany whey products bypassed FMD controls without inter-agency alerting.
• Illegal meat imports escalating at scale with no published data: criminal smuggling operations bringing high-risk products through airports, ports, Eurotunnel in unsanitary conditions; Dover Port Health Authority operates only two mornings per week despite intelligence on repeat offenders.
• SPS agreement negotiations pose regulatory risks: government has not clarified scope (animal welfare, food labelling still undefined); committee demands exemptions for precision breeding and animal welfare standards to prevent dynamic alignment constraining UK innovation and undermining farm standards.
• Veterinary profession facing systemic retention crisis: only 5.8% of vets under 30 leave profession, but workforce gaps exist in official veterinary services and public health; younger graduates reject vocation model, expecting employment with life-work balance rather than on-call commitment.
• Bovine TB diagnostic test (SICCT) has 20-25% false negative rate yet farmers legally prohibited from supplementary testing; FSA/FSS operating under flat budgets despite major new responsibilities including SPS preparation (requiring 15-20 additional staff for Scotland alone).

Why it matters

If animal diseases like African swine fever or foot and mouth breach UK borders due to biosecurity gaps, the consequences are catastrophic for food security, farming livelihoods, and trade; simultaneously, the SPS agreement could lock the UK into EU regulatory processes that eliminate competitive advantages (precision breeding) or undercut British farming standards (animal welfare).

Tone arc

Inquiry began procedural (May 2025 border biosecurity questions) but turned sharply critical after March 2025 industry testimony exposed BTOM as 'most expensive, least efficient border in the world' and September 2025 illegal meat crisis report. By February 2026, committee tone hardened into prescriptive demands for SPS exemptions and regulatory safeguards, reflecting mounting evidence of systemic failures.

Key witnesses

Dame Angela Eagle MP (Minister, DEFRA), Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, DEFRA), Emily Miles (APHA Chief Executive), Katie Pettifer (FSA CEO), Geoff Ogle (Food Standards Scotland CEO), Sally Cullimore (Fresh Produce Consortium), Richard Griffiths (British Poultry Council), Dover Port Health Authority representatives