Politicians and farming groups have expressed deep concern at the lack of action to achieve compliance in member states not currently on track to meeting new European animal welfare legislation.

Changes to EU welfare laws will see a range of welfare improvements for pigs, including a partial ban on sow stalls. However, despite the travesty of this year’s Welfare of Laying Hens Directive, which saw less than half of all EU member states achieving compliance when new welfare laws came into force in January this year, up to 17 member states are not expected to meet the deadline.

The new legislation comes into force on 1st January 2013 and has been planned for over a decade. The new package represents a landmark leap forward in animal welfare legislation, but widespread inaction to ensure compliance is causing embarrassment for the EU and frustration within compliant member states; sow stalls have been banned in the UK and Sweden since the 1990s.

Farm animal welfare organisation Compassion in World has warned that a quarter of pig farms could be using illegal methods on 1st January based on data obtained from the European Commission. Furthermore, UK producers have warned that, as 40 per cent of pork products sold in the UK being imported, there is a risk that illegal meat may enter the UK and undercut compliant producers.

Green MEP Keith Taylor today expressed concern over the widespread lack of compliance and the potential consequences for European pigs and producers. The MEP for the South East of England has urged the European Commission to step up action against recalcitrant member states that do not meet the January deadline.  

Mr Taylor pledged “I will be putting pressure on the European Commission to ensure pig production standards are not ignored, as failure to do so may result in illegal pig meat ending up on our shelves. This is unfair to consumers, disadvantages those farmers who have invested in the new law and of course lets down those pigs that the EU agreed to protect many years ago.”

He added, “As a member of the European Parliament, I welcome this important piece of animal welfare legislation but I am extremely disappointed that EU law could be ignored by other European countries.”

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