WA pig legislation left outdated after APL votes to phase out sow stalls

MEDIA RELEASE - Wednesday November 17

Australia's pork producers have agreed to voluntarily phase out sow gestation stalls by 2017, leaving WA’s regulations on pig welfare out of date and out of step.

“WA’s Pig Code is now so out of sync with current science that not even pork producers agree with it,” said MLC Lynn MacLaren and Greens WA spokesperson for Animals.

“I’m calling on the government to immediately take on board this significant development, accept the latest science and the pork industry’s decision and ban the use of sow stalls,” added Ms MacLaren.

The decision was made at today’s AGM of Australian Pork Limited (APL) and was largely in response to public and consumer pressure to ban the practice of confining pregnant pigs into small stalls.

“This decision vindicates what animal welfare interests have been saying for years - the extreme confinement of farmed animals in small spaces is unacceptable to consumers and inconsistent with what the science says,” said Dr Malcolm Caulfield, Principal Lawyer at the Animal Welfare Community Legal Centre.

“The review of the Pig Code recommended retaining sow stalls for the first 6 weeks of any gestation and that flew in the face of science and the public view,” Mr Caulfield added. 

Sow stalls were originally introduced to allow for housing of more sows in a smaller area. Pigs are very social animals and stalls prevent them from interacting with other pigs, resulting in behavior such as head swaying and biting of the metal bars. Because movement is severely restricted, the lack of exercise often leads to reduced muscle and bone strength and difficulty in standing up or lying down.

The APL’s decision brings it in line with producers in the UK. Although the EU hasn't fully banned the use of sow stalls, its Scientific Veterinary Committee has confirmed that “since overall welfare appears to be better when sows are not confined throughout gestation, sows should preferably be kept in groups.”

Up until today, the pork industry had justified the use of sow stalls by claiming that animals put into group housing during early pregnancy fight, suffer stress and are less productive in terms of numbers of piglets born.

Supermarket chain Coles recently announced that it will not buy pork from farms after 2014 which confine pregnant sows in stalls.

“The decision to phase out sow stalls is proof that food producers and supermarkets will meet the wishes of the people who buy and eat their products. It’s a huge win for animal welfare and consumer choice,” said Ms MacLaren.

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