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Germany: Pork plants working Sundays and holidays to support pig producers

The German minister is not yet considering private storage and has emphasized the need to reduce the number of pigs in pens.

Before the summit with the states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, where the serious situation on pig farms due to African swine fever and the cases of COVID-19 in slaughterhouses was discussed, the German Minister of Food and Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, stated:

"The situation on some farms is tense; farmers are concerned. An animal welfare problem is surfacing because ready-to-slaughter pigs are not being picked up due to reduced activity in some slaughterhouses and processing plants. Therefore, it may be helpful to grant an exemption to allow for work on Sundays and holidays. Every effort should be made to prevent the number of animals in the pens from increasing. Private storage has not yet been contemplated, but this option does not make sense if capacity is not constantly reduced.