January 13, 2014

Tyson Foods outlines hog welfare issues

In a letter sent dated January 8, Tyson Foods has drafted measures the company is taking on hog raising practices to the hog farmers who supply them.

These steps are being taken as part of their on-going animal well-being programme and reflect input they've received from their Animal Well-Being Advisory Panel, customers, farmers and industry experts. They also reflect their continuing efforts to balance the expectations of consumers with the realities of today's hog farming business.

As noted in the letter, Tyson is doing the following measures: (1) Increasing the number of third party sow farm audits conducted through their FarmCheck™ programme; (2) Urging hog producers to use video monitoring in their sow farms to increase oversight and decrease biosecurity risks; (3) Encouraging hog producers to stop using manual blunt force as a primary method of euthanizing sick or injured piglets; (4) Supporting the use of pain mitigation (such as anaesthetic or analgesic) for tail docking and castration of piglets; (5) Urging hog farmers to improve housing for pregnant sows by focusing on the quality and quantity of space provided, including urging all future sow barn construction or remodelling to allow for pregnant sows of all sizes to stand, lie down, stretch their legs and turn around.