§ Mr. Burdenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ban the battery rearing of piglets in the United Kingdom in conformity with the Council of Europe Recommendation 641 Article 7 paragraph 5 of 1971.
§ Mr. StrangInspections by my veterinary staff of units where piglets are reared in batteries or cages have not revealed unnecessary pain or distress. These systems do, however, call for high standards of management and hygiene, which it could be difficult to achieve and maintain under ordinary farm conditions, and problems may arise which could expose the animals to the risk of suffering. We have urged pig farmers who may be thinking of adopting such a system to consider very carefully, before committing themselves, whether they could meet the management and husbandry demands it would place upon them.
The recommendation to which the hon. Member refers has not been included in the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes, which was signed recently on behalf of Her Majesty's Government. The convention has been drawn up in relatively general terms, leaving detailed provisions for welfare, based on scientific knowledge of the various species, to be developed later by a standing committee of experts.
§ Mr. Burdenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he intends to seek powers to ban the keeping 451W of pigs in individual cages without daylight or room to exercise from weaning until slaughter.
§ Mr. StrangI understand that such a system has been developed in the Irish Republic but, so far as is known, it has not been introduced here. This, like any other system of management, would be subject in this country to the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 under which it is an offence to cause unnecessary pain or distress to livestock on agricultural land. We shall watch developments carefully with a view to taking such action as we consider necessary should the system be taken up in Great Britain.