The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) has called on Defra secretary Angela Eagle to suspend the consultation on phasing out high-concentration CO2 stunning of pigs until the negotiations on a UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal are complete.
While Defra has confirmed its intention today to ban CO2 in abattoirs, ideally with just a two or three-year transition, the European Commission has previously signalled that it has no plans to do so.
In a letter to the secretary of state, AIMS executive director Jason Aldiss said: “If overseas suppliers retain existing systems while our members face conversion and additional operating costs, imports could gain a cost advantage.
“The policy risks shifting production, investment and jobs overseas while British consumers continue buying pork produced using the same stunning method. Defra must explain how it would prevent that outcome.”
The letter asks how this policy will fit into with Defra’s policy of retaining some UK rules under any future SPS deal.
He called on Defra to publish the government’s assessment of the legal route for a domestic ban under the proposed SPS agreement and confirm whether the necessary position has been agreed with the EU. He also questions whether imported pork produced using CO2 will ‘remain eligible for sale here while domestic processors are prohibited from using it’.
He pointed out that the UK’s 1999 ban on sow stalls and tethers ‘provides a clear warning’. “British producers incurred costs that competing overseas suppliers did not, while imports from systems prohibited here continued,” he said.
“Defra must not repeat the mistake of undermining our industry while shifting demand to lower-welfare production overseas.”
The letter calls on Dame Angela to defer the consultation ‘until the UK–EU sanitary and phytosanitary negotiations are concluded and the implications for slaughter welfare legislation are clear’.
‘Realistic timetable’
In its initial reaction to the consultation launch, the NPA states that a proposed transition period of two to three years is ‘totally unworkable’.
“So far, research and trials have not revealed any feasible alternative which can provide improved pig welfare at commercial scale and therefore be adopted immediately,” chief executive Lizzie Wilson said.
“We will be communicating to Defra the importance of a reasonable transition period which allows for thorough testing of all alternatives to ensure they do indeed meet the required objectives, and the importance of a full impact assessment for the transition away from CO2.
“Defra must also consider the impact on our domestic pork sector of continued imports of pork produced using CO2 stunning.”
“We will be communicating to Defra the importance of a reasonable transition period which allows for thorough testing of all alternatives to ensure they do indeed meet the required objectives, and the importance of a full impact assessment for the transition away from CO2.”
In an interview on BBC’s Farming Today programme, NPA chief policy adviser Katie Jarvis stressed the needed for a ‘realistic timeline’ for any transition.
More reaction
RSPCA Director of Advocacy and Prevention Thomas Schultz-Jagow said: “Every year, millions of pigs suffer distress and pain when slaughtered using CO2, so this is a critical welfare issue.
“Pigs are sentient and intelligent animals deserve a good quality life and a humane death. We welcome the government’s commitment to end this slaughter method and we will work with them to drive this critical change forward to improve the welfare of pigs as soon as possible.”
Toby Baker, executive director of RSPCA Assured, added: “We are pleased to see recognition that farmers must be supported with this change, and we urge the government to introduce a clear, practical phase-out plan that helps farmers transition to humane slaughter methods, so they aren’t bearing the burden alone. We must work together for welfare.”