British Pig Industry Against Illegal Pork

Retailers, processors and caterers have pledged not to use or sell pork from farms which will become illegal when the EU stalls ban is implemented next year

Sow stalls have been banned in the UK since 1999, but as many as a third of pig producers across the EU will be unable to meet the January 2013 deadline to change farming methods.

Organisations including the British Retail Consortium, the Food and Drink Federation, the Provision Trade Federation and the British Meat Processors Association voiced their support at a meeting with farming minister Jim Paice.

Richard Longthorp, chairman of the National Pig Association, said, “It is great news that every organisation has confirmed its members will only use meat from legal pig farms.”

The move to outlaw sow stalls is similar to the battery cage egg ban that was introduced in January, which resulted in a shortage of eggs.

The National Pig Association, which had been campaigning for the commitment for months, welcomed the move.