Welfare labelling on eggs has been mandatory since 2004 and last year the Government said it would seek proposals to extend the labelling.
Rob Percival, head of Food at the Soil Association, Told The Times: “The Government has hammered another nail into the coffin of its animal welfare policy agenda. Welfare is a clear priority for UK citizens. So in whose interest has this decision been made? It’s clearly neither in the public interest nor in the interest of animals.
“It’s simply not true that UK animal welfare standards are consistently adequate, and consumers have a right to know which system an animal has been farmed in. We support the NFU’s call for clearer country of origin labelling, but welfare or method of production labelling is also needed.”