Our latest publication is a White Paper advocating for stronger protection of pigs under EU law through a prohibition of caged farming. “Reforming Pig Welfare in the European Union: The Case for a Cage-Free Future,” by Gabriela Kubíková, Artūrs Kaņepājs, Griffin Carpenter and Marietheres Reinke, presents a compelling argument for a transition to free farrowing in the pig sector, with the aim of informing the Commission’s ongoing modernization of animal welfare legislation.
With an average of 2.3 litters per year, female pigs spend approximately 160 days (or 44% of the year) confined in highly restrictive cages: “sow stalls” (or gestation crates) for the breeding and pregnancy stage, and “farrowing crates” for the birthing and nursing stage. These metal enclosures run closely alongside the body of a gilt (a female pig after puberty and before their first litter) or sow, and are so narrow that the animal is unable to turn around.
The pig farming industry has expressed concerns over the costs associated with a transition to cage-free systems, which may lead the European Commission to abandon any proposal to prohibit sow stalls and farrowing crates. Our White Paper provides evidence-based policy recommendations that account for animal welfare benefits and critically assess industry-provided economic analyses, to provide EU policymakers with the best available economic data, animal welfare science, and legal evaluation.
Chapter 1 examines EU law on the protection of pigs, with a specific focus on caged farming, and Member State legislation prohibiting or restricting the use of sow stalls and farrowing crates. Chapter 2 analyses the animal welfare and worker safety impacts of cage-free systems – sow stalls and farrowing crates – compared with conventional caged housing; and Chapter 3 provides an economic analysis of the associated costs of transitioning to free farrowing, as well as the associated animal welfare benefits, including consumers’ willingness to pay.
The White Paper’s ultimate goal is to achieve a legislative proposal by the European Commission to prohibit the use of cages (sow stalls and farrowing crates) in pig farming, and its subsequent adoption by the co-legislators.
Read the full paper here, or the plain language summary here.
Our Legislative Advocacy Manager, Gabriela Kubíková, has been quoted in an article by Zach Boren, “Inside Big Ag’s plot to kill the EU Green Deal”. The article reveals how Copa Cogeca, the federation of European farming interests, undermined and pushed back against the EU’s green farming commitments – including by using delay tactics to slow the lawmaking process.
We’re one of the NGOs included in Food Ingredients First’s coverage of the Livestock Strategy. “The European Institute for Animal Law & Policy struck a […] cautious tone,” they write. “It noted that the strategy “creates no legal obligations” by itself and that the cage phase-out is not yet dated. Still, it welcomed the fact that there are now concrete dates for legislative proposals.”
The European Commission revealed its Livestock Strategy today, adding yet another document to the Commission’s announced reforms for farmed animals. But announcements alone will not improve the lives of animals. We will continue the fight, with other animal advocates and concerned citizens, to make sure the Commission follows through on today’s announced reforms.
