Tackling disregard for sow stall ban
The National Pig Association (NPA) is demanding urgent action for those openly disregarding the sow stall ban, with hundreds of thousands of pigs still illegally confined to metal cages.
Prior to January 1, 2013, the ban had been partial in the EU for more than a decade, however, since the new year, a full ban has been in place across the member states.
The NPA estimate that up to 40 per cent of EU pigs are currently produced on farms that are flouting the ban, and figures from December's European Commission meeting revealed that only five member states are fully compliant - including the UK.
Some of the UK's main competitors were reported to have poor compliance, including France with 33 per cent, Germany with 48 per cent and the Netherlands with 63 per cent.
Denmark - the biggest exporter of pigment to the UK - reported 85 per cent compliance.
In some countries, compliance has improved since the full ban came into place, however, the NPA has calculated that around 40,000 sow stall pigs are being delivered to continental processing plants each hour.
NPA Chairman Richard Longthorp said: "We have been pressuring Brussels for more than a year to take measures to protect European consumers from illegally produced pigmeat. Its stock response has always been that it could do nothing until January 1, 2013. Well that date is now upon us and it needs to act urgently to have any chance of keeping its integrity intact.”
The European Commission health directorate has called a meeting on January 28 and, in Britain, Farming Minister David Heath is holding a meeting on February 6 to assess the problem.
“It is extremely frustrating that many EU member states will not have banned the use of sow stalls by January, when they have known about it for 12 years," said Mr Heath. "Sow stalls are cruel, they restrict the sow to such an extent that she can’t turn around for almost her entire life.”
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
