Member states not ready for EU stall ban

January 2013 sees the ban of sow stalls in the EU but more than half of all member states believe they won’t comply with the legislation.

Back in 1999 sow stalls and tethers were banned in the UK. It was a ruling that devastated the British pig industry, as the multi-million pound investment in building and operating higher welfare units never translated into better prices in the supermarkets.

Competitors on the continent were given until 2013 to convert their equipment and, as UK pig farmers went out of business, flooded the British market with cheaply-produced pork and bacon.

But on 1 January 2013 it will become illegal to house sows in stalls except for the first four weeks of gestation.

It should mean that the disparity in costs between UK and continental pig production should narrow and yet, with just nine months to go until the legislation is in place, less than half of all member states will be fully compliant. Some have made no provisions to comply with the legislation.

Only 12 say they will fully comply by 2013, with seven states saying they will be 90% compliant; five 70-89% compliant and three member states disclosing they have made no provisions.

So what is the European Commission going to do about non-compliance and what is the potential impact on UK pig units?

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State of the Sow Stalls

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