Swine news - Management

The Minister of Agriculture of The Netherlands, Ms Carola Schouten, has agreed to end routine tail docking of piglets by 2030 with the Dutch pig sector.

The initiative presented by Lower Saxony regarding obligatory nature of an animal welfare labelling did not reach the needed majority when voted in the Bundesrat last September 20th, 2019.

The European Livestock and Meat Trades Union (UECBV) has developed a document with the aim of creating a comprehensive and harmonised scientific methodology that can be used by the industry stakeholders to calculate the product environmental footprint of red meat and to determine the impact of the red meat supply chain.

This year, Bulgaria will update and upgrade the National Information System for Registration, Identification, Tracking and Control of Animal Health Status - VetIS.

The Commission informed ministers about the issue of long distance transport of animals in summer conditions and its impact on animal welfare.

FVE calls to prevent suffering of animals during long distance transports, in particular under extreme temperatures. EU countries should avoid long distance export of animals in periods when temperatures are expected to go above 30°, which puts the welfare of the animals at risk.

A new guide to help farmers improve the environment by reducing ammonia emissions has been launched by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

The Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG) and ASPROCER have published a Handbook on good animal welfare management practices in pig production.

The German Cabinet has ratified the regulation through which the German farmers will be able to anaesthetise their piglets with isofluorane to eliminate pain during castration.

After the waiting period of three months, the EU has approved the animal welfare labelling proposal.

As published by Le Soir, Flanders will have its own mobile team for the control of welfare at the abattoirs.

Researchers from the Joint Research Unit for the Physiology, Environment and Genetics of Animals and Livestock Systems (PEGASE), in collaboration with the CEA-LETI, have developed an automated detection device for pig behaviour. It is a system based on individual monitoring to help farmers intervene quickly in the event of behaviour which affects the health and welfare of the animals.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has published its first ever Guidelines for the Depopulation of Animals to help veterinarians support animal welfare in situations where the difficult decision to depopulate has been made.

Top priority welfare objectives: farrowing pens for loose-housed nursing sows, intact tails, an end to castration, a higher rate of piglet survival.

These new, stronger regulations include both prescriptive and outcome-based requirements that emphasize and improve the health and wellbeing of the animals during the entire transportation process.

The Farm Sustainability Tool for Nutrients (FaST) aims to facilitate a sustainable use of fertilisers for all farmers in the EU.

After an important drop in 2010, piglet mortality rose again until reaching 13.6% in 2016.

More unannounced and risk-based checks and tougher penalties for offenders. Minimise transport time and transport carcasses rather than live animals. Better enforcement of existing rules, with the help of new technology.

The Ministry of Agriculture of Brazil launched, last December, an online Good Pig Production Practices Handbook.

With the aim of reducing piglet tail docking, the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark has decided to toughen the regulations regarding this matter.

The rapporteur Mr Jørn Dohrmann (ECR, DA) presented his draft report on the implementation of Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport within and outside the EU. The rapporteur concludes that the overall degree of implementation has been insufficient to improve animal welfare during transport.

The approval of isofluorane is an important step to fulfil the legal requirement of avoiding pain when castrating piglets.