Why is Animal Welfare Important in Trade?

Trade can have an immense and detrimental impact on animal welfare as a lot of trade is about food products such as meat and dairy and also the movement of live animals including the pet trade and farm animals. Up to this point Free Trade Agreements have tended to include little to no farm animal welfare protection whilst allowing considerable liberalisation of trade in animal products. Standards for animal welfare can vary considerably across different countries and so it is important that if one country has set high standards it does not undermine those by allowing the import of much lower standards. Animal welfare can also be linked to many other important issues such as sustainability, health and climate change which is why it must be a serious factor with trade negotiations.