Countryside Alliance angry after Pembrokeshire council email suggests staff eat less meat and dairy

Countryside Alliance Wales have hit out at Pembrokeshire Council after they suggested staff should eat less meat and dairy in an internal email.

The newsletter sent out to staff urged employees to cut back on meat and dairy citing it as one of the “biggest ways” to “reduce your impact on the planet”.

But the Countryside Alliance Wales have called on the council to apologise and to “pledge its wholehearted support” for Welsh farmers by committing to only source local produce.

Rachel Evans, the Alliance’s Director for Wales, also asked for the council to be transparent as to who, or what the external source used was and whether taxpayers are footing the bill for their “inappropriate advice”.

“What local farmers in Wales need right now is to know local representatives have their back and for them not to be briefing against their industry behind closed doors,” she said.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that an animal rights agenda is masquerading itself as genuine environmentalism, which in this case has been legitimatised by the local council. Pembrokeshire council should be transparent about who the ‘external source’ is and whether taxpayers are funding their inappropriate advice.

“In order for farmers to maintain our beautiful countryside here in Wales, we need people to continue buying their produce, including meat and dairy. Without a buoyant market for it, the countryside risks deteriorating.”

Carmarthen East and Pembrokeshire Senedd Member Samuel Kurtz, the Welsh Conservative’s rural affairs spokesman in the Senedd, also commented: “Pembrokeshire is renowned for its fantastic agricultural produce, of high quality and sustainability, so the industry would expect support from the local authority.”