Pig men wary of swill ban

27 March 2001



Pig men wary of swill ban

By Alistair Driver

THE National Pig Association has called for a thorough review before the government bans the animal feed blamed for triggering foot-and-mouth disease.

Agriculture minister Nick Brown is expected to announce plans to ban swill feeding in a statement in the House of Commons on Tuesday (27 March).

A government investigation is believed to have concluded that foot-and-mouth was sparked by swill fed to pigs at Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland.

The pig fattening unit, run by brothers Ronnie and Bobby Waugh, is thought by veterinary experts to be the source of the outbreak.

Many farmers now want swill banned.

There are only about 140 licensed swill feeders in the country. Some 80,000 pigs representing 1.4% of production would be affected by a ban on swill.

But Stewart Houston, chairman of the National Pig Association producer group, said the organisation was not joining calls for a ban.

“We can understand the concerns, but there are key issues that need to be addressed before we would support a ban,” he said.

Catering waste that would have been taken away by swill feeders would end up on landfill sites if the practise was banned.

Infected meat could then be spread by birds and other wild animals.

The NPA is also concerned that banning swill feeding will divert attention from the key issue of controlling illegal meat imports.

Swill feed does not cause infection if it is properly heated, as required by swill feeding legislation, said Mr Houston.

“There is no reason why the regulations could not be properly enforced.”

East Anglian pig farmer John Clarke, who feeds 20,000 pigs on treated poultry waste, said swill feeders had been made scapegoats by the government.

He now expects swill feeding to be outlawed.

“All our plants will be redundant. I have invested thousands of pounds in recent years, but they say there will be no compensation,” he said.

“Swill feeders didnt produce foot-and-mouth and didnt make the virus. When you import stuff from around the world this is what is going to happen.”

Swill feeding had not caused any problems over the last 30 years, he added.