January 23, 2012

 

 

The failure of 15 EU states to meet a ban on battery cage production has been criticised by Germany Thursday (Jan 19) but then admitted it might not meet the end-of-year deadline to remove sow stalls from its pig farms.

 

Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner also used a press conference at the start of Berlin's 77th International Green Week to tout the idea of a new EU-wide food label which would instantly let consumers know if the produce they are buying meets Europe's stricter animal health and welfare laws.

 

The ban on battery cages was agreed 12 years ago. All 27 member states were supposed to be compliant on January 1 and replace the battery systems either with welfare-friendly enriched cages which give hens more room to perch and behave naturally or switch to other production regimes, such as free range.

 

But 15, including the UK, failed to meet the deadline. Between 50-80million eggs are still being produced daily from battery cages deemed cruel.

 

Aigner, speaking through an interpreter, told journalists: "These eggs should not be marketed. They should be withdrawn from the market. In Germany, we have no eggs from caged systems at all. I am still not happy with this (that there are eggs still being produced from battery cages)."

 

She said her idea for an EU animal welfare label responded to public demands, but she was unsure if her enthusiasm for it would be shared by the European Commission and other member states.

 

But, in responding to a question from the Press and Journal, Germany's federal director-general for nutrition, food safety and animal health, Bernard Kuhnle, said he was only optimistic of full compliance on removing sow stalls by the end of the year.

 

Germany is among Europe's main pig producers and cheap imports from it have undercut British pig producers, who were forced by the UK Government to remove sow stalls 13 years ago when the legislation was first agreed. The impending ban on the stalls is again expected to be ignored by many EU states, despite them having had more than a decade to comply.

 

Kuhlne said Germany's agriculture ministers were working towards making sure pig production met the new EU law. But he said the worry was that other member states would fail. He admitted just 50% of German pig farmers had met the demands of the new rules by December last year, adding: "We are optimistic the states in Germany will reach 100% by the end of the year."

 

NFU Scotland pigs working group chairman Philip Sleigh said: "These are very interesting comments from Ms. Aigner, and we would be keen to know if her commitment to withdraw non-compliant eggs from the market will be matched with regards to non compliant pig meat next year if any German farms fail to scrap sow stalls.

 

"Our meeting this week with commission welfare officials highlighted the difficulty in tracing pig meat, particularly when moving between member states for finishing and processing. We would want to see Mss Aigner commit to a traceability scheme that from 2013 can guarantee that pig meat is from compliant units.

 

"As regards to a health/welfare marque, I urge caution as there seems to be quite a selection of 'schemes', farm based, retailer based and national. Of more use would be a label that clearly identifies non-EU products, particularly where there is a difference in welfare standards between member states and imports to the EU."