CALGARY (Staff) – The animal welfare movement has gained enough strength throughout Europe that it can successfully force regulations on how farmers raise livestock.
“Maybe you think the animal welfare people are not in Canada yet, but they are coming and they force laws to be made,” said Gerhard Schwarting, a hog specialist from Nuertingen University in Germany.
Recently, Switzerland received a list of demands for change that ask for a return to raising animals outdoors and more open spaces in barns.
At present their animal care regulations state animals have to be kept in a way that will not disturb their body functions or behavior and ensure no excessive demands are placed on them.
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Animals can’t be tied all the time.
Slatted floors are allowed if they are plain and clean. Artificial lighting is allowed.
New concepts being discussed include a ban on slatted floors and artificial light. Regular exercise outside the barn must be possible for hogs and breeding animals.
Pigs must have at least one hour of exercise outside, at least four days a week.
Every pig has to have a sleeping space, with bedding material like straw or wood shavings.
Pigs must be kept in groups except for sows which can be isolated before and after giving birth.
Tying sows down prohibited
Tying down sows in rectangular crates will be forbidden. Pens must be structured and hiding places to allow smaller animals to escape from aggressive ones are required.
Changes spurred by the animal welfare movement have also arrived on dairy and poultry farms.
“Right now it’s not possible to build a new barn in Germany for cows that are not open barns,” he said.
The Swiss are taking laying hens out of cages and sending them outdoors as well, said Schwarting.
