No more money to the pig industry

No more tax money should be spent on the pig industry. This was stated by MEP Anja Hazekamp in the European Parliament during a debate on the current crisis in the pig sector.

Because the pig industry has for years produced more pork than required, it is now in bad need of money. Brussels therefore pumped 27.6 million Euros into the storage of excess produced pork to support pig farmers. That money turned out to be insufficient for the pig industry and it is now asking for more money from the EU.

The Party for the Animals believes this is a bad idea: “The subsidised freezing of ‘kilo stunners’ by meat traders is putting off the evil day. Continuing to pump money into extending the life of the bankrupt factory farming industry will not solve the oversupply of pork. Europe must face the truth and should no longer invest in this bankrupt industry,” according to Hazekamp.

Animal Welfare
Besides having money problems, there is also the issue of animal welfare problems in the pig industry. Pigs are kept under appalling conditions and animal welfare regulations are systematically violated.

“Millions of pigs in Europe are still castrated without anesthetic. Many pig farmers cut off the piglets’ tails and pull their teeth systematically when they are only seven days old, even though this has been prohibited since 1994. The crisis in the pig industry is a perfect opportunity to reform the farm factory industry and to change pig factories back into pig farms. Shut the factory farms and change to small-scale production with human dimensions and an eye for animal welfare,” according to Anja Hazekamp.