Ruling creates uncertain future on pig farms
Last month, the High Court dropped a bombshell. A judge in Wellington made a decision that left pig farmers like me with an uncertain future almost overnight.
The judge ruled that two regulations and two minimum standards in the Pig Code of Welfare that permit the use of mating stalls and farrowing crates are unlawful and invalid.
Now, the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC), which provides independent advice to the minister responsible for animal welfare, must assess the validity of New Zealand pig farmers continuing to use the most common indoor farrowing system globally to raise pigs.
The High Court also directed the minister to consider recommending new regulations that provide a transition period to phase out the use of farrowing crates and mating stalls. In other words, the Government may try to ban such crates altogether.
My family and I have been involved in pig farming for more than 30 years and some of the commentary following the court ruling has at times demonstrated a lack of understanding about why we raise pigs like we do.
Like about half of all pig farmers in New Zealand, we chose an indoor pig farming operation to have better control and management of our animals, regardless of climate or land type.
Our pigs are always well protected from the weather. The ventilation, temperature and humidity can all be controlled at the best levels specific to the pigs’ age, size, and stage of growth.
For me, the choice of a farrowing or birthing system is all about balancing the needs of the sow and the piglets. The system we use is essentially a maternity ward for sows.
One of the reasons they were introduced by the pig industry was to reduce piglet deaths. By limiting the movement of the sow, the movements that lead to piglet crushing are slowed down, giving piglets time to move out of the sow’s way. Sows can weigh more than 300 kilograms.
Piglet crushing is a welfare issue, and this system is the most effective at protecting piglets.
Each sow has her own feed, adjusted to her nutritional needs. They don’t need to compete over access to shelter, food or water. Disease is kept to a minimum.
The system we use also provides a piglet-only area that is heated to meet their needs for a higher temperature than the sow.
The statistics don’t lie. According to a study of New Zealand pig farms, commissioned for the Ministry for Primary Industries, pre-weaning piglet mortality averages 12 per cent on farms using conventional indoor farrowing systems. On outdoorbased farms, pre-weaning piglet mortality is greater at 20 per cent.
Sows do not spend their whole lives in farrowing systems. They are there for a maximum of
28 days after giving birth to care for their piglets. Sows will be in a farrowing system twice a year.
Worldwide, conventional systems are the most common method used to house sows and piglets until piglets are weaned. No country has completely banned them. In 2016, NAWAC backed this system by saying it was the best option available to meet the animals’ welfare needs.
New Zealanders need to ask themselves some questions. Do we want a pork industry like ours, with high standards of animal welfare? Or do we want to replace it with imported pork, which doesn’t have to meet all of New Zealand’s current animal welfare standards or regulations?
Imported pork already represents 60 per cent of pork consumption in New Zealand.
The lesson from Sweden
The consequences of outlawing existing indoor farrowing systems are clear.
First, half the industry will need to reconsider their future, and many will choose to exit pig farming. Second, a greater number of piglets will die.
That’s what happened in Sweden, a country that moved to replace farrowing crates with pen-based farrowing systems.
The average piglet mortality rate is 18 per cent, meaning that every year 500,000 die before they reach a weaning age of about 28 days. Sweden’s Ministry of Agriculture was so concerned by this that it prompted research using ‘‘smaller sized stalls where sows are immobilised’’.
Over time, modern farrowing crate systems have been refined to improve sow welfare. But we have to ensure the welfare of the piglet is being managed as well.