On Fri, 16 May 2008 08:33:30 +0100, "Pat Gardiner"
<patgardiner@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>There was a great deal happening overnight.
>
>Websites were going up and down last evening. There is obviously a crisis
in
>the pig industry. The nature of it will become clear later
>
>You may wish to save yourself a slice of history by going over to the
BPEX
>site and taking a copy of an undated letter from HRH The Prince of Wales,
>before someone thinks the better of it, and it becomes unavailable again.
>
>http://www.bpex.org.uk/Article.aspx?ID=295767
>
>I will comment in due course.
Seems strange they should photograph the letter rather than copying it
properly but I suppose incompetent buffoonery means they don't have a
clue what they are doing or talking about.
HRH has been fed duff information, not that I imagine it matters to
the spitting image effigy!
The claim that 40% Of British Pigs are reared outdoors is laughable
along with the blatant misconception that British Pigs are raised to
the highest standards of husbandry and animal welfare.
British Pigs are raised to minimum standards allowed in the UK which
is still horrendous for the animals involved.
British farming wonders why it is an free fall when all it has to
fight back with are lies about it's animal welfare standards!! It
makes a mockery of everything they say. The public are rightly
skeptical when they know they are being lied to by conmen of the worst
order!
CWIF say on Pig Farming (and remember you are eating this crap which
is a festering ground for all sorts of diseases including MRSA)
Pigs for meat and pigs for breeding
Pigs are raised to produce piglets or to produce meat. Female pigs
(sows) raised for breeding are housed in different systems than pigs
raised for meat (fattening pigs).
Breeding sows
Across much of the world, including the US, the European
Union (EU), and increasingly in some “developing” countries,
many sows are kept in sow stalls. In the UK and Sweden, sow
stalls are illegal and sows raised indoors are kept in groups,
often with straw bedding. Many sows, including the majority in
the US, the UK and Europe, normally give birth and nurse their
piglets in a farrowing crate, which is similar to the sow stall. In
the UK, some sows (around 25%) are kept outdoors in free-range
conditions, but their piglets are usually reared intensively indoors.
What are the welfare problems associated with sows kept in sow stalls?
.. No straw bedding: Bare concrete and slatted floors can
cause injury, lameness, discomfort, and prevent normal
rooting behaviour.
Very little space: In sow stalls, typically 0.7 m wide, sows
cannot turn around or lie down comfortably.
Individual confinement: Isolation denies sows social interaction,
which is necessary for good welfare. Sows may also display stereotypic
behaviours, where a sow constantly repeats a purposeless movement,
such as bar-biting.
.. Other welfare problems: Panic and stress, heat loss, discomfort,
bone weakness, difficulties in lying down, and increased
cardio-vascular problems and urinary infections may occur to sows kept
in sow stalls.
Pigs raised for meat
Conditions are often barren and overcrowded for pigs kept indoors.
Fewer than half the fattening pigs in Europe are provided with straw.
Often they are kept in dim light.
What are the welfare problems associated with pigs raised intensively
for meat?
.. No straw bedding: Bare concrete and slatted floors can
cause injury, lameness, discomfort, and prevent normal
rooting behaviour.
.. Overcrowded conditions: Pigs are often kept in
overcrowded conditions with little or no room to exercise or
express other natural behaviours.
.. Early weaning: Piglets are usually abruptly removed from their
mother at 4 weeks of age, where in natural settings weaning would be
gradual from 3-4 months of age.
.. Tail-docking: Because of overcrowding and a barren environment, pigs
usually bite each other’s tails. Piglets’ tails are therefore usually
cut off.
.. Castration: In Europe, piglets are usually castrated in the first
few days of life and without anaesthetic. In the UK, piglets are
generally not castrated as they are slaughtered before ***ual
maturity.
Recent changes in EU law
Largely as a result of campaigns led by Compassion in World Farming
(CIWF), tethers and sow stalls are now being phased out in the EU.
As of 1st January 1996:
.. No new sow units are allowed to use tethers.
As of 1st January, 2003:
.. No new sow units are allowed to use sow stalls. All new systems must
abide by the EU
law which will come into force on 1st January 2013.
.. Pigs must have permanent access to materials for investigation and
manipulation.
As of 1st January 2006:
.. All existing tethering systems must be phased out.
As of 1st Janurary 2013:
.. All existing sow stalls must be phased out. Sows must be kept in
groups after the first 4 weeks of pregnancy. 1 week before the
expected time of birth, sows may be kept in a farrowing crate.
.. When individually confined for illness or injury, sows must have
enough room to turn around and lie down comfortably.
.. Fully slatted floors are banned - part (1.3m²) of the sow's floor
area must be solid.
CIWF Trust’s comments on the EU law
For sows: CIWF Trust is very disappointed at the long phase-out period
of sow stalls and at sows being kept in sow stalls for the first 4
weeks of pregnancy. The farrowing crate should be replaced by
farrowing pens, in which the sow can walk around and carry out
normal nesting behaviour. CIWF Trust believes sows kept in groups
should have at least 3.5 m2 of space each.
For fattening pigs: CIWF Trust believes that fully slatted and
concrete floors should not be permitted. Pigs should be given
straw-bedded lying areas. Tail-docking, painful castration and
teeth-clipping should be banned. CIWF Trust believes fattening pigs
should have at least 50% more space than they have at present.
Organic pig farming - a better alternative
Organic pig keeping can give both sows and fattening pigs a high
standard of welfare. Pigs may be allowed to roam on a free-range
basis, with shelter being provided by huts or pig arcs. Piglets raised
for meat may be weaned naturally and gradually.
What you can do
.. Write to your local newspaper or radio station and tell them about
the suffering of pigs
reared on intensive farms and of alternatives to factory farming
methods.
.. If you buy pig meat, make sure that it is produced by organic or
free range methods.
You may also like to consider some meat-free alternatives.
.. Write to your political representative (MP or MEP in the UK) and
urge them to improve
the welfare conditions for pigs. Request that supermarkets, caterers,
restaurants and other food providers have a policy of organic or
free-range pigmeat only.
.. Join an animal protection group that campaigns for better conditions
for pigs and other farmed animals, such as Compassion in World Farming
Further reading
.. Briefing: The Welfare of Pigs. CIWF, 2002
.. Re****t: Saving Their Bacon. CIWF, 2000)
.. Re****t: The Welfare of Europe’s Sows in Close Confinement Stalls.
CIWF Trust, 2000
.. Re****t: The Close Confinement of Irish Sows. CIWF, 1997
Contact us
Compassion in World Farming Trust
+44 (0)1730 264208
Charles House
5a Charles Street
info@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
3EH
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