A project aiming to “significantly advance pig welfare across Europe” has highlighted a range of challenges facing Irish pig farmers.
The WelFarmers project is operating on a “bottom-up, farmer-led approach” which it said ensures that solutions are practical and ready for implementation on farm.
It is hoped that the collaborative initiative will help enhance welfare standards on-farm without compromising farm profitability.
The three-year project will focus on four main themes: banning of cages; pigs with undocked tails; avoiding pain in castration and space allowance and flooring.
The European Commission has already signalled that there will be changes to EU legislation in relation to pig farming.
Pig farmers
Funded by the Horizon Europe Program, WelFarmers has innovation networks in eight different countries, including Ireland.
These networks include pig farmers, pig farming organisations, advisors, vets, researchers, and other stakeholders.
An update on the workings of the project was recently presented as part of the recent Teagasc Pig Farmers’ Conference.
Teagasc is managing the Irish regional network, along with sharing the information gathered in the project with farmers.
The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) connects the project directly to the Irish pig farmers and is working with Teagasc to organise knowledge exchange tours.
During the first of four meetings to be held in Ireland, the initial round of challenges facing pig farmers in the country was identified.
The Irish network did not cover the topic of avoiding pain in castration, as pig castration is not practiced here.
There were several perceived challenges for Irish pig farmers when transitioning to free farrowing or free lactation systems.
One of the major concerns was the lack of clarity around specifications for retrofitting these systems into existing buildings or constructing new buildings.
Teagasc said this uncertainty is compounded by the high costs of transitioning to these systems, with limited suitable funding, and doubts over whether consumers will accept higher prices to offset the costs.
Issues surrounding securing planning permission and licenses from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were highlighted as additional obstacles in relation to construction.
Members pointed to the potential for increased mortality, injury, and stress for both sows and piglets and also voiced concern for staff safety.
Challenges
Teagasc said that network members identified several challenges related to the theme of space allowance and flooring.
Again, high costs and the difficulty in obtaining planning permission for additional space emerged as a big concern.
While all members agreed that additional space benefits both animal welfare and performance, it was felt that providing additional space could result in hygiene and labour challenges.
The management of larger spaces gave rise to concerns about injuries, lameness, and aggression in pigs.
Many members were reported as questioning the feasibility of raising pigs with undocked tails citing concerns about increased injuries, mortalities, associated production costs, medical costs, antibiotic use, labour requirement and staff stress.
It was also felt that preventative measures for tail biting, including necessary space and enrichment, would present significant financial burdens for farmers.
Over the coming months, the project will now examine good practices throughout Europe to address the challenges highlighted by the eight regional networks.