December 9, 2008

Romania wants more time for the implementation of animal stunning policy, as immediate change is seen as impossible.

EU legislations require that pigs must be stunned before slaughter. The European Commission in 2007 said stunning is mandatory before slaughtering and demanded Romania to draw up a 3-year plan aimed at improving the situation.

Romania also demanded that the European Commission grant a three-year grace period for the application of animal stunning before slaughtering. This was necessary as the number of pigs bred in households is higher than in other EU states and stands at over 2 million capita.

It is hard to control the observance of the EU regulations in such a big number of households, and the stunning cannot be introduced overnight, said Radu Roatis, president of the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA).

Roatis said Romania has started the national information campaign on the necessity of stunning and the people are expected to realise in time the importance of stunning.

This year, the stunning will be done not only by the veterinarian but also by pig owners or people authorised by the mayor's offices, Roatis added.