April 24, 2007

Australian swine farmers to change gestation stalls before 2017

The decision by Australian agriculture ministers to extend the practice of confining breeding sows for another 10 years has been lashed out by animal welfare groups.

The group said other developed nations are either phasing out the method or reducing the amount of time sows are kept in small metal crates which prevent the animal from turning around or even take little steps.

Bioethicist and Princeton University professor Peter Singer says Australia may be left behind in animal welfare standards as Britain, the US, Canada and the European Union either reduce the amount of time gestating sows spend in stalls or ban the practice altogether.

Singer said the $818 million Australian pork industry could no longer justify the use of stalls as the world's major pork producers were replacing larger pens housing small groups of pigs.

In 2017, Australian pig farmers will have to reduce the maximum amount of time sows kept in stalls from 16 weeks - the entire pregnancy - to six weeks, he said.

Under the new code - approved by federal, state and territory agriculture ministers on Friday - the length of the stalls will increase from two metres to 2.2 metres, and remain 60 centimetres wide.