The 2013 Pig Directive bans EU farmers confining pregnant pigs in sow stalls for their entire pregnancy. Yet only 10 EU countries were ready when the law came into force on 1 January 2013.

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for South East England said, “It is unacceptable that so many member states are showing disregard for EU legislation. With the Directive giving farmers a generous 11 years to phase out the use of sow stalls, there is no excuse that millions of pigs across the EU continue to be illegally confined in these metal crates”.

Pig producers in the UK banned the use of sow stalls in 1999, however, the UK imports around 60 percent of its processed pork². The key import countries include Denmark, Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, France and Belgium³, all of which have been revealed as being non-compliant.

Though many of the UK’s major supermarkets already only stock pig meat which meets the new legislation’s requirements there is concern that illegal pig meat could end up in cafes, restaurants and food vans.

A National Pig Association spokesperson said “We are urging companies selling imported pork and pork products to check their sources of supply very carefully. They must be absolutely certain the bacon, sausages, ham, pizzas and other processed pork they sell do not come from farms that are flouting European animal welfare law”

Kate Parkers, RSPCA said: "These metal crates are so narrow the pregnant pig cannot turn around and only stand up and lie down with difficulty. Millions of sows are set to have their lives greatly improved by the EU ban on sow stalls, however, it is disappointing they can still be used for the first four weeks of pregnancy."

Keith is writing to Tonio Borg, EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy calling for urgent action to be taken on this matter and for there to be an effective process to enforce the legislation.

Keith added: “Failure to act may result in illegal pig meat ending up in our food. This is unfair to consumers, disadvantages those farmers who have invested in meeting the new requirements and of course lets down those pigs which the EU agreed to protect many years ago.”

Despite the partial ban on sow stalls, pigs can continue to be confined to crates after they have given birth due to the use of farrowing crates remaining legal across the EU. To ensure you’re eating pork, bacon, sausages, ham and gammon from pigs raised on higher welfare farms, look for the RSPCA Freedom Food label or outdoor bred, outdoor reared, free-range or organic written on the pack.