Marks and Spencer bans tethered pigs

21 December 1998

Marks and Spencer bans tethered pigs

By FWi staff

MARKS and Spencer has become the first major UK retailer to announce a worldwide ban on the controversial method of rearing pigs tethered in stalls.

The ban, which covers all stores and the entire M&S product range, coincides with legislation banning the practice in UK.

Stall-and-tether methods of keeping pregnant sows prevent the animals from turning round, in many cases for months at a time.

Many UK pig farmers have spent thousands of pounds upgrading their farms to comply with the new law, which bans the practice from 1 January.

But some producers fear that, rather than buy British, supermarkets will switch to cheaper pigmeat from Europe, where stalls and tethers remain legal until 2006.

Now, it seems, the UK farmers have got what they wanted – at least partially.

From 1 January, M&S will only buy imported pigmeat it is produced under similar animal welfare conditions as those in the UK.

The move mainly covers Parma ham, which cannot be made in the UK because it is a regional speciality protected by European Union law.

Martin Van Zwanenburg, M&S divisional director, said the move showed the company was fully committed to British agriculture.

“We will always ensure that British farmers are treated equally to overseas farmers when we apply such improvements,” he said.

The UK-based animal welfare group, Compassion in World Farming, urged other retailers to introduce bans of their own.

“Pigmeat from overseas farms using cruel stall-and-tether systems has no place on Britains supermarket shelves,” said Philip Lymbery, CIWF campaigns director.

John Godfrey, chairman of the British Pig Association, welcomed the news that M&S will operate a single standard across their entire product range.

The battle is now on to persuade other retailers to implement the same policy, he said.

“Many British pig farmers feel that they are being let down by other retailers who operate dual standards for products sourced outside the UK,” added Mr Godfrey.