# EP26: Back for 2026: Welfare Policy, Poultry Politics and What Comes Next

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-poultry-network-podcast-7041539/ep26-back-for-2026-welfare-policy-poultry-politics-and-what-comes-next
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-poultry-network-podcast-7041539/ep26-back-for-2026-welfare-policy-poultry-politics-and-what-comes-next.md
Podcast: [The Poultry Network Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-poultry-network-podcast-7041539)
Published: 2026-01-09T06:24:00+00:00
Episode link: https://poultry.network/ep26-back-for-2026-welfare-policy-poultry-politics-and-what-comes-next
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/c876a7c8-db4b-4c5a-882b-9ba6e1c59b9d.mp3
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Duration seconds: 1174

## Resource

Tom Woolman and Tom Williams are back for 2026 with a quick New Year catch‑up (including Tom’s other life in the Backwood Redeemers… on accordion), then they dive into the biggest policy headlines that landed over the festive break. This episode focuses on the government’s new animal welfare strategy (described as “the most ambitious in a generation”) and what it could mean for UK livestock — with a poultry‑first lens. They also reflect on how the announcement was timed and packaged alongside other news, and why the media attention landed where it did. Key topics: • Egg sector: the direction of travel on colony systems, the future of infrared beak treatment, and the momentum behind in‑ovo sexing. • Meat sector: how to interpret government language on moving away from fast‑growing broiler breeds, and the practical uncertainty for the supply chain. • The big missing piece: trade. If UK standards tighten, how are imports handled, and can welfare ever be a meaningful lever in trade policy? (They discuss the view that WTO rules don’t treat welfare as a straightforward “distinguishing factor”.) • Joined‑up policy: why welfare strategy, the National Food Strategy and farm profitability need to be hand‑in‑glove. To close, they look ahead to 2026’s big unknowns - geopolitics (Ukraine/Russia) and what any shift could mean for commodities, energy and feed markets - with the usual reminder not to make purchasing decisions based on podcast chat. Follow/subscribe for more weekly insight from across the poultry sector.

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## Transcript

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