Posts Tagged ‘EU’

For pig’s sake

Thursday, March 7th, 2013

In recent times, I’ve been privileged to take to the international stage, carrying the mantle for farm animal welfare. During my travels, I have seen pigs kept in a wide variety of ways; some appalling, others positively joyful. I’ve seen everything from pigs kept in woodlands to frighteningly huge mega-pig farms in China and Mexico.

When I’m talking to governments, food companies or producers along the way, I proudly talk about the reforms that have been brought in to protect the welfare of pigs in Europe.  Legislation that outlaws the prolonged use of sow stalls in Europe, where pregnant pigs can’t turn around for months at a time – banned in Britain in 1999 but not in the EU until January this year. I also talk about the European law that prevents pigs having their tails routinely cut off and requires that they must be provided with basic material such as straw, rather than totally barren pens such as is the norm on factory farms.

It was a real bone-shaker then, to find that hard-won reforms are being widely flouted in Europe.  Compassion’s latest investigation lifts the lid on pig farms in Spain and found upsetting scenes including:

  • No straw or other enrichment, causing pigs to frantically chew at the bars of their barren pen out of frustration;
  • Severely ‘docked’ tails – cut-off to control biting amongst bored pigs;
  • Overcrowded and lame pigs;
  • Pigs having to stand in flooded waste and lying in their own excrement;
  • ‘Pig bins’ outside farms filled with maggot-ridden dead pigs.

Our investigators uncovered pitiful scenes.

We found many pigs existing in deplorable living conditions

We found many pigs existing in deplorable living conditions

What’s scandalous is that all these situations contravene European law.

Injured pig cowering in a corner

Injured pig cowering in a corner

All of this underscores our campaign to ensure that pigs are treated as sentient beings, capable of feeling pain, suffering and joy. We are stepping up our campaign; pressing governments and the European Commission to take swift action against those who ignore the law.  Action is needed for the pigs’ sake and for those producers who have switched to doing the right thing and are being undermined in the marketplace by those who haven’t.

Tags: , , , . Posted in General | 2 Comments »

Organic: When equivalent isn’t the same

Friday, May 18th, 2012

I’ve just arrived back from the USA where I’ve been working with our new US director, Leah Garcés.  Whilst there, Leah briefed me on a particularly worrying issue that’s arisen around organic foods.  Having labels that we trust is a big part of building confidence in our food system.  When the labels are misleading or meaningless, that is when things start to go wrong. 

Sadly, existing labels can be a minefield.  In the UK, our recent report showed how the ‘Red Tractor‘ label all too often assures little more on animal welfare than compliance with minimum laws.  It’s a position the scheme sadly hasn’t budged from since I analysed Britain’s main farm assurance schemes ten years ago. 

On a more positive note, our latest assessment shows the Soil Association organic label as coming top in the animal welfare stakes, just as it did a decade ago.    

Whilst in the US, I was deeply concerned to learn about a recent announcement stating that the world’s two largest organic markets – the EU and the US – had entered into an ‘equivalency’ agreement. This means that organic farm animal welfare products from the US can be sold as ‘equivalent’ to EU farm animal welfare products, and vice versa.  What’s the problem? Put simply, they are not equivalent!  In general, US organic standards for animal welfare fall well below those in the EU. In fact, some of the practices permitted in the US organic standards would be illegal in the EU.

For example, electric goads are banned outright in EU organic standards. They are permitted under some circumstances in the US organic standards. Another example, organic standards in the US don’t necessarily have to allow animals to have outdoor access, i.e. dirt beneath their feet and sky above their heads.  There are pending proposals to change this, but they are likely to take years to come into effect.  At present US organic farms may use so-called ‘porches’, which are areas enclosed with screens, concrete floors and a roof. That’s a far cry from what the EU consumer expects from an organic label. Ducks on US organic farms don’t have to be given access to a pool or lake to swim in. The list goes on. 

Next month, this agreement comes into effect.  EU citizens may see USA farm animal products on their shelves with the label ‘organic’, despite them not having to be equivalent to EU standards on animal welfare grounds.  It seems to me that this development can only serve to drag down the good name of ‘organic’ across the board; unless something is done, and quick.

Thankfully, there’s an opportunity to make a difference. At the end of May, the US National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will discuss revising these standards. We must urge the NOSB to make US standards truly equivalent. They need to put farm animal welfare first.

Our US director will be attending this meeting. We’ll be calling for urgent revisions to ensure that consumer expectations on animal welfare are genuinely met across both regions. Please help us by ‘liking‘ our action on Facebook so we can let them know how upset EU consumers are about this agreement.

At the same time, if you’re out shopping for meat, milk or eggs, please continue to look for products clearly labeled as ‘free range’, ‘Freedom Food’ or Soil Association organic.

As always, thank you.

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Farrowing crates & battery cages

Friday, June 17th, 2011

On some things we’ve seen progress, on others progress remains slow.  An example of the latter in Britain is the ongoing use of the so-called ‘farrowing crate’ to confine mother pigs in industrial systems.  On the other hand, we are on the cusp of a major breakthrough for egg laying hens with a ban on barren cages due next year.

Twenty years ago, I reported on a farming press headline declaring that intensive pig farming was an “industry still in the dark ages”.  The Farmers Guardian article was referring to the use of farrowing crates that are used to confine mothering sows from when they give birth (farrow) to the time their piglets are weaned weeks later.  I quoted two researchers from the University of Guelph as saying, “Crates are so narrow that with almost every move the sow unavoidably rubs herself against the bars and partitions, frequently causing abrasions and, in some cases, swellings”.  I ended the article saying, “Freedom at farrowing is every sow’s right.  The pig industry must drag itself out of the dark ages.  Dispensing with the farrowing crate would be a good start.”  Sadly, twenty years later on, the farrowing crate is still the predominant system for sows kept indoors.  It’s time for change.  We are upping our campaign in the UK and Europe to see an end to this appalling system. 

One major area where it does look like we are seeing progress is with the long-awaited ban on the barren battery cage for laying hens in Europe.  Our ‘Defend the big move’ campaign aims to make sure that Europe doesn’t back-slide on its promise to consign battery cages to the scrapheap of history from January next year.

Big leap for the ‘big move’

It’s a campaign that has motivated many people; one of them is Jeremy Hayward, the Vice-chair of Compassion’s Board.  Jeremy is taking a big leap – skydiving to raise money for our ‘big move’ campaign against barren cages.  And I’ll be interviewing him soon after his daring feat to find out just how he felt hurtling through the air, arms spread, in aid of hens unable to stretch their wings. 

If you would like to learn more or sponsor Jeremy’s big leap, please click here .

And talking of hens, I’m often asked to write more about my four adopted hens.  So I’ve done just that.  Coming shortly will be a series of blog articles entitled, ‘Living with hens’, giving insights into the way they live; their likes, dislikes and antics as they go about reshaping my previously tidy garden!

A huge thanks to you and all our supporters for flying the flag for farm animals; I remain humbled and overwhelmed by your generosity and commitment.

Tags: , , , , , . Posted in Eggs & Poultry, factory farming | 1 Comment »

Commission stands firm on cage ban

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

The European Commission has once again underscored that it doesn’t intend to delay the ban on barren battery cages, due to come into force in 2012. This is greatly welcome news. Especially in the face of an attempt by Poland earlier this year to derail the timescale.

The latest statement from Commissioner John Dalli, in answer to a European Parliamentary Question, should help to focus the minds of governments and industry to ensuring that all hens are out of these appalling cruel cages by the 1st January 2012, as prescribed in the law.

But as the saying goes, ‘it isn’t over till it’s over’, and we will continue to counter attempts for a delay on the ban, wherever they come from, through our campaigns and lobbying. And thank you to all those who continue to support this most important of campaigns. The fate of many millions of hens relies on it.

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A dream comes true

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

A cause for celebration is that animals in the European Union (EU) are legally recognised as sentient beings; they have legal status as being capable of feeling pain, suffering and, if we give them the chance, a sense of well-being. It was the outcome of a campaign that started in the 1980s in reaction to animals being classified as mere ‘agricultural products’, the psychological and legal pretext that arguably enabled the rise of the long distance transport trade in live animals for slaughter.

The original agreement to give legal status to animals as sentient beings was made in Amsterdam in 1997. Many of us will remember the summer’s day when we marched through the streets of that fine city, demanding that the Treaty of Rome be changed to take a more favourable view of animals. The ‘Amsterdam Protocol’, as it became known, was annexed, or loosely attached, to the founding treaty of the European Community.

Now we have renewed cause for celebration. The entry into force of The Lisbon Treaty in the EU sees this recognition enshrined in a dedicated ‘Article’, a core text of the Treaty. This will give it greater weight in the eyes of decision-makers. We can rejoice at the status of animals having advanced further in Europe.

For the record, the Article states that “In formulating and implementing the Union’s agriculture, fisheries, transport, internal market, research and technological development and space policies, the Union and the Member States shall, since animals are sentient beings, pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals, while respecting the legislative or administrative provisions and customs of the Member States relating in particular to religious rites, cultural traditions and regional heritage.”

Legal recognition of animals as sentient beings does not, of itself, end the practices that we seek to reform; practices such as taking animals on long, unnecessary journeys to slaughter or treating them simply as units of production on our factory farms. However, it does strengthen our argument and gives us a significant lift in shaping decisions that will influence the lives of hundreds of millions of farm animals.

I remember how our late founder dreamed of changing the EU’s underpinning Treaty to better address the status of animals. I remember how that goal was seen as impossible, impractical, by some, even laughable. Now that dream has come true. Now to make that other dream come true; an end to factory farming itself and its terrible travelling companion, the long distance transport of animals.

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Greece guilty!

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

A recent case in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) demonstrates the power our undercover investigations have in not only exposing animal suffering but also bringing governments to account. The Government of Greece was found guilty for failing to uphold European rules protecting animals during transport and slaughter.

The case was brought by the European Commission following successive exposés by Compassion and other animal welfare groups. Whilst the legislation itself is inadequate, Case 416/07 did strike a blow for proper enforcement of existing rules, something that would prevent much suffering amongst the six million farm animals transported across Europe every year.

Case C-416/07 found Greece guilty of “failing to take all the measures necessary” to properly enforce EU legislation on the protection of animals during transport and slaughter. Specifically, Greece did not

• Ensure competent authorities properly carried out obligatory checks of route plans
• Provide facilities at ferry ports for animals to rest after unloading
• Ensure inspections of animal transport vehicles were completed
• Enforce rules on stunning of animals at slaughter
• Ensure that inspections and controls in slaughterhouses are carried appropriately.

Our investigators, often working undercover at personal risk, gathered evidence in Europe which documented how animals travel enormous distances for considerable time without periods of rest and access to water to reach their final destination – slaughterhouses where they are killed in cruel and unacceptable circumstances.

For example, our latest investigation showed how many unwanted male dairy calves born in Poland and Lithuania have been transported long distances to intensive veal farms in The Netherlands and Italy.
With respect to Case C-416/07, evidence was gathered by the European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office which investigated how Greece transported and slaughtered farmed animals. The FVO is responsible for checking that Member States are enforcing EU animal welfare legislation properly. Their investigations were prompted in part by our own and those of other like-minded organisations. Our research in Greece in 1997, 2001 and 2005 documented widespread failure to comply with the transportation and slaughter directives.

The ruling in Case C-416/07 shines the spotlight on Greece and its treatment of farmed animals. Greece must now prove to the Commission its compliance with the transportation and slaughter directives. If it does not taken sufficient action, the Commission could issue a “reasoned opinion specifying the points on which Greece has not complied with the judgment.” The case could then be brought back to the ECJ.

Everyone who supports Compassion played a role in the successful prosecution of Greece. Your support helped us to make sure we had sufficient resources to operate our investigators in Europe, including those who work undercover. They provided us with the evidence we used in our reports on countries failing to implement the transportation and slaughter directives. As in Greece’s prosecution, our reports helped to persuade the European Court of Justice and the Food and Veterinary Office that not all of the EU’s member states were in compliance.

Please help us to hold these authorities to account and make sure that EU regulations are enforced by Greece and every other European country.

Thank you!

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Lost Opportunity in Europe

Monday, July 6th, 2009

Animals are at their most vulnerable in the hands of those who don’t care about their fate. Behind the closed doors of slaughterhouses where accountability is minimal at best, there is a cauldron of serious animal welfare problems built out of the stuff of nightmares. Forget about the individual well-being of cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens, turkeys, ducks and horses on the production line when slaughterhouse employees are paid to kill animals at frighteningly high speed. Not that I blame those whose job is to kill the animals we eat. I wished they had – like the animals they slaughter – a better future. My complaint is with the system. The how and why in which animals are slaughtered for food.

That’s why I’m angry with the European Union and its new Slaughter Regulation agreed by the Agriculture Council on 22 June. Compassion was, of course, in the thick of things lobbying for animals. As we report here some progress was made. This includes requirements for procedures, training and compliance. I have to ask, however, why measures like this aren’t already in place.  Sadly, the new Regulation fails to tackle a number of crucial welfare problems, even when the science and humanity fully support the need for reforms.  It fails to ban religious slaughter without stunning, for example, and the highly aversive gassing of pigs with Carbon dioxide.  As it is the new regulation does not come into force until 2013.

As we all know, there’s money to be made from killing animals by the millions everyday. (Five billion chickens and 360 million other animals are slaughtered annually in the EU.) There are also national traditions, cultural attitudes and religious beliefs which deny that animals have an ability to feel pain, experience emotions and make decisions. Or, if they are recognized, they are considered unimportant as our interests always trump them. This is why there are no excuses for lost opportunities for farmed animals at the time when their lives are terminated.

Like me, you’ve probably thought about what it would be like if every slaughterhouse had glass walls. This may not be possible today but tomorrow each one could be fitted with CCTV. After all, we live in a country where every High Street is watched by CCTV for our protection and safety. Are not farmed animals equally deserving of the same? Particularly at the time when they are killed?

I offer Compassion’s excellent staff and their outstanding expertise to every European government to help them train their staff to monitor the video footage taken in their country’s slaughterhouses. Round the clock monitoring would surely put to the test any procedure, training program and compliance mechanism.

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Sow and piglets foraging and one piglet sucklingCaged laying hensNocton bus advertisementLabel Rouge broiler chickens of both sexCute lambs running and jumpingMontbeliard cows on pasturePhilip at FAIBarren veal calf pens

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