Crate ban by 2027 “unrealistic” warns NPA

National Pig Association chief executive Zoe Davies has said calls to can farrowing crates at EU or UK level by 2027 is “completely unrealistic”.

The comments come after the recent announcement that the European Commission intends to propose legislation by 2023 that bans the use of cages in farming. This was in response to the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘End the Cage Age’ campaign which calls for cages to be banned from 2027.

The commission has not committed to a ban by that date but will ‘assess the feasibility of working towards the proposed legislation entering into force from 2027’. It has committed to adopting a species-by-species approach to the ban and has acknowledged the need for a reasonable transition period.

Its aim is to complete an impact assessment, covering the socio-economic and environmental implications of the measures and benefits to animal welfare using evidence from an Efsa report, before the end of 2022. A public consultation is planned for early 2022.

The commission has promised that farmers will be supported financially and through training to help manage the transition. It is also looking at various methods of addressing the threat of cheaper imports produced using cages.

Defra, meanwhile, has said it is examining the use of cages.

In an interview for Monday’s Farming Today programme, Zoe Davies said: “In our view, 2027 is an impossible ask. We have been doing a lot of work within the industry and with Defra looking at what the transition would entail and purely from a practical point of view, we believe it will take 20-30 weeks per farm to transition.

“It is going to cause major disruption to pork supply and we have very few specialist building companies that could do the transition work.”

There is “huge concern” out there among producers about the practical implications and the costs involved in making the change, and the UK industry is seeking similar support and protection to that pledged by the EU, she added.

There are also concerns over getting planning permission sorted in time and Zoe said the entire supply chain will need to work with producers, or see more go out of business.

The industry is currently working on finding suitable alternatives to conventional farrowing crates to balance the need to give sows more freedom, whilst protecting piglets. There have been promising results on farms that have trialled temporary crating, which allows the sow to be confined for a few days after farrowing. However, piglet mortality has been too high with complete free farrowing, she added.