The welfare of pigs

Recent media sparked by SAFE (a national animal rights organisation) has highlighted the conditions to which pigs are subjected. The two main areas of concern are dry sow stalls and the use of farrowing crates.

• A dry sow stall is an individual pen in which a sow may be housed during pregnancy. She can only stand or lie down, but not turn around.
• Farrowing crates are used after birth to accommodate the sow and piglets.

Pigs, like all animals, are protected by the Animal Welfare Act 1999. In 2005 a pig welfare code was set up under the Act. It recommends best practice as well as minimum standards for pig farming.

Dry sow stalls are specifically mentioned in the code. The stalls must have enough space and sows that show severe lameness or behavioural problems must be removed from a stall. From 2015, confinement in a dry sow stall must be for no more than four weeks after mating.

The code also covers farrowing crates. These must be big enough for the sow to lie full length without leg restriction; and there must be an escape area for the piglets. Sows must not be confined for more than six weeks in any reproductive cycle.

Concerned groups say this still isn’t good enough. The Code is being reviewed this year and urgent attention is needed to address these concerns.

It’s surprisingly hard to work out if you’re buying pork products made from pigs that weren’t restrained in dry sow stalls or farrowing crates. Only one product in our test – Freedom Farms Middle Bacon – states that it’s free-farmed using no crates, cages or pens. We’d like all products to be labelled so that consumers can see at a glance which pork products are more “pig-friendly”.