Piglets do not trim their tails and are more popularized
2021-05-10
At present, many countries and domestic pig farms choose not to cut their tails to reduce the stress and infection risks of pigs and achieve relatively satisfactory results. Germany also aims to evaluate and promote policies to reduce tail docking this year.
Germany's national action plan "Kupierverzicht" was launched in 2019, after the European Union was under increasing pressure on the theme of docking. The goal of the plan is to gradually increase the number of complete tails. In an interview with the German Agricultural Association (Top Agrar), Luise Ehrlich of the Association for the Study of Bioeconomics (FBF) said that evaluating this action plan by no means means that the German authorities will stop these initiatives.
The exact date of the assessment is not yet known. This is determined by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, which in turn depends on the states, local agricultural organizations and animal health organizations.
Track damage to the ears and tails of pigs
In short, German pig producers will have to continue to track ear and tail damage, and will continue to work hard to introduce long tails into their herds. The high damage rate is not an excuse to continue docking. Pig producers must conduct risk analysis with consultants, veterinarians, and management plans, and will conduct inspections during animal health inspections on each farm.
Pig producers who have already cooperated with the test team will have to gradually increase the number of pigs without tail docking. For this reason, a threshold of 2% maximum damage was created. When the total amount is low, the number of continuous tail pigs must be increased.
Initiatives of the pig industry
In addition to the action plan that pig producers are required to follow, the pig industry is also busy phasing out tail docking. At a recent digital press conference, the German branch of the breeding company Topigs Norsvin reported that so far, at least 15,000 long-tailed breeding sows have entered the sow farm.
Compared with the 155,000 reserves sold last year and the 172,000 reserves expected this year, this ratio is relatively small. However, the company said it is incentivizing the use of long-tail gilts.
Germany is the second largest pig producer in the European Union. Any changes in legislation will eventually have an impact on surrounding countries, such as Denmark and the Netherlands, which together transport large numbers of weaned piglets across the border to Germany for fattening.
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