Letter: Confusion over animal products

Published on Thursday 9 December 2010 15:23

IF MILK and meat from the offspring of cloned animals is to be sold without identifying labels (News, 5 December) this will cause further confusion for buyers of animal products.

Thankfully many people care about the welfare of animals reared for food and they need clear labelling to make informed decisions about what to buy.

Cloning causes terrible suffering. For each normal animal born many more have a variety of serious malformations.

These mutations often result in the animals having to be destroyed to end their suffering.

As well as identifying products associated with cloned animals, meat from ritually killed animals should also be identified at point of sale.

Tens of thousands of animals slaughtered without adequate stunning are sold in supermarkets and restaurants without any indication of how they were killed.

Putting clear labels on animal products should not be a decision for employees of Defra or the FSA. Our politicians in Holyrood and Westminster must ensure that the people who elected them are given full information about the food they eat.

John F Robins, Animal Concern Advice Line, Dumbarton