Farm 2 Fork Stratégia: EFSA tudmányos vélemény a sertéstartás állatjóléti körülményeiről

The opinion describes a total of 16 welfare consequences for different husbandry systems considered by EFSA’s experts to be highly relevant due to their severity, duration, and frequency of occurence. These include restriction of movement, group, heat or cold stress, and prolonged hunger or thirst.

The opinion provides measures that should be put in place to prevent or correct the hazards and to mitigate the highly relevant welfare consequences. EFSA’s experts make a number of detailed recommendations, including suggestions on the quantitative or qualitative criteria needed to answer specific questions on the welfare of farmed pigs that were raised as part of the European Citizen’s Initiative ‘End the Cage Age’. Among other topics covered in the recommendations related to tail biting are space allowance, enrichment material, weaning, and the practice of mutilations.

This is the first of a series of scientific opinions on the welfare of animals kept for farming purposes, requested by the European Commission as a key component of its F2F strategy. It provides a scientific basis to support a legislative proposal by the European Commission, scheduled for the second half of 2023, as part of the revision of the animal welfare legislation.

On 26 September, EFSA is holding a public event in which the results of the scientific opinion on the welfare of farmed pigs and the upcoming work on the transport of animals will be presented, including a Q&A session. More information can be found at this link.

EFSA