Farrowing crates – Viva! campaign
Thank you for your communication about farrowing crates. I have received several cards following a campaign by Viva! (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals), a group concerned with animal welfare issues.
We have, in Great Britain, some of the strictest legislation in the EU to protect the welfare of pigs. The Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 makes it an offence to cause or allow unnecessary pain or unnecessary distress to livestock and the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2000 specify in detail the welfare conditions under which pigs must be kept. In several respects these go beyond EU requirements, most notably in banning from the beginning of 1999, the use of all close-confinement stalls and tethers. There is also a pig welfare code that encourages good husbandry. Failure to follow the code's recommendations can be used in evidence in court to support a welfare prosecution.
The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2000 set a time limit on how long sows may be kept in farrowing crates: from seven days before the predicted day of farrowing until the piglets are weaned. After this period sows in the UK must be moved back to loose housing accommodation in which they are free to turn round easily.
The reason for this is that a sow can weigh a hundred times more than her piglets and can crush them without noticing. Crushing is by far the largest cause of piglet mortality, and I am sure you will agree that it is equally important to maintain the welfare of the piglet as that of the sow.
The card mentions that we are amending the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2000. The Regulations are being amended to implement two EU Directives on pig welfare adopted in October 2001, and we have recently consulted on our proposed amendments. Specific provisions on the use of farrowing crates were not changed by these Directives. They do, however, make clear that the issue is one that the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Welfare (SCAHAW) should address in a report leading to the next review of the Directive, scheduled for 2008. In the UK, we should prefer if possible, to avoid the close-confinement of all sows. This is why we are funding research to develop and test commercially viable farrowing systems, which do not closely confine the sow, but provide adequate protection to piglets. Some such alternative systems seem promising in an experimental environment, but in others, piglet mortality has been unacceptably high. It remains the case that results need to be replicated consistently under commercial conditions. As yet, the risk of piglet mortality in alternative farrowing systems remains unacceptably high. Our continuing research should contribute to the SCAHAW's examination of the issue.
Thank you for taking the time to contact me on this issue.
Yours sincerely
Joe Benton JP MP
Bootle
