ILLEGAL PIG FARMING CONDITIONS EXPOSED IN EU-WIDE INVESTIGATION

Compassion’s investigation shows that new EU animal welfare rules are ignored across the EU.

During an 18 month undercover investigation, Compassion in World Farming and the European Coalition for Farm Animals (ECFA) visited 74 pig farms in six Member States: Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

Our investigation – coupled with a report by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) – suggests that nearly all of the 250 million pigs farmed each year in the EU are reared in breach of EU animal welfare laws.

Investigation at a glance

Country Click to see footage from each country	Prevalence of tail docking (% of farms visited)	No (or ineffective) environmental enrichment (% of farms visited)
Denmark	100%	67%
Germany	79%	89%
Hungary	70%	70%
Netherlands	100%	88%
Spain	100%	100%
UK	54%	36%

The investigation recorded a high rate of poor animal welfare in the farms visited:

Routine tail docking on up to 100 per cent of farms visited – prohibited by EU law
Widespread lack of environmental enrichment – prohibited by EU law
Continued use of farrowing crates: metal cages confining mothering sows
Continued use of sow stalls (narrow crates for pregnant sows) in the countries investigated (except UK – which banned sows stalls in 1999), despite the looming 2013 ban

Select a country for more info

Investigators witnessed sows – the mother pigs – kept in stalls so narrow that they couldn’t even turn round; many were bar-biting, a clear sign of frustration and hunger. Most fattening pigs were kept in barren, often filthy pens.

“In general the situation of the pigs was very similar in all countries we visited,” explains Compassion in World Farming’s investigator. “The floors were bare, space was very little and the places very dirty.

“It’s horrifying to imagine that most of the meat sold in supermarkets and restaurants comes from animals kept in these conditions.”