December 7, 2012

A Scottish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is calling for a ban on pork exports from countries which do not fulfill new welfare rules from January 1.

Alyn Smith, of the SNP, told producers at Oldmeldrum that he would garner political support for the move if they work with their pig farmer colleagues across Europe who already adhere to the legislation to show widespread backing for a pork trade embargo. He urged the farmer groups to be ready to show their support at a meeting he has scheduled with Tonio Borg, Europe's new health and consumer affairs commissioner, in January.

The new rules, which outlaw sow stalls, have been on the statute books for 13 years, but there are still member states unlikely to comply – Austria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia. UK producers met the regulations in 1999 when the British Government imposed the rules unilaterally.