Dioxin scare comes back to haunt Belgians

By Peter Crichton

A SECOND wave of the dioxin scare is reported to have hit a further 223 Belgian pig farms, and has lead to a ban on the slaughter of Belgian pigs in German meat plants in the North Rhine region.

Because pig prices in Belgium have been about 30p/kg deadweight lower than in Germany, France and Spain large volumes of live pigs have been bussed all over Europe to break through the price barriers on the home market.

According to EU officials there are proposals pending to apply a total ban on the use of all recycled fat in feed rations.

These proposals are believed to be part of a larger pack of measures which will include the phasing out of the use of all animal wastes in livestock feed rations by 2001.

Members of the British Pig Industry Support Group (BPISG) will be following these moves closely as they have been campaigning for the removal of meat and bonemeal from feed rations in all EU states and not just the UK.

The first steps in a ban of this nature are expected to amend the list of ingredients prohibited in animal feed and to widen the scope of the EU Council Directive 90/667/EC on animal waste.

Any further moves which limit the availability of in feed ingredient use in other EU countries and which are banned in the UK will be welcomed by all UK producers.

As the BPISG have pointed out although we are seeing a more stable future for the UK industry all breeders are still operating at well below the latest Signet production costs.

They are only hanging on by extending credit still further and hoping that their UK bankers will take a long term view concerning current high borrowings.