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Protest over imported pigsat Lincolnshire port

- 13 August 1998
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13 August 1998

Protest over imported pigs
at Lincolnshire port


HUNDREDS of pig farmers converged on a Lincolnshire port in a protest against imports of cheap factory-farmed pigs.

The farmers were launching a day of action at Immingham dock in an attempt to highlight the plight of the UK pig industry which they say is close to financial ruin. Some 800 farmers were involved in the protest which passed off peacefully.

The protestors targeted Danish lorries. Danish farmers use the cheaper “stall-and-tether” rearing method, which allows them to undercut British farmers. The practice will be banned in the UK from next January.

Campaigners say the pig industry is losing about £200 million a year through depressed prices and a flood of cheap imports.

Digby Scott, spokesman for the British Pig Support Group, said it was a desperate situation for a number of farmers. “Prices for British meat have slumped to their lowest level in 60 years and many farmers are having to quit the business.”

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