WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2657/97 by Patricia McKENNA to the Council. Cruelty in pigmeat production
30. 4. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 134/17 (98/C 134/21) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2657/97 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Council (1 September 1997) Subject: Cruelty in pigmeat production There is a growing antipathy to the use of sow stalls and tethers by the pig industry among EU consumers because of the cramped conditions in which the animals are reared. For that reason, Tesco, a major supermarket chain in Britain, announced that it will introduce a ban on the sale of fresh pork reared by this system from 1 August next. The ban will be extended to other pigmeat products within a year. Tescoís move has been taken seven years before an EU-wide ban on the system is due to take effect. Given the growing trends among consumers, will the EU re-evaluate its ban with a view to introducing it sooner to reduce cruelty in the pig industry and restore consumer confidence in pigmeat products? Answer (15 January 1998) On 19 November 1991 the Council adopted Directive 91/630/EEC (1) laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs. Among other things, the Directive laid down requirements relating to the amount of unobstructed floor area which must be available to each pig reared in a group and provisions relating to the construction of rearing installations. It also provided for a ban, as of 31 December 1995, on the construction or conversion of installations in which sows and gilts could be tethered. Nevertheless, the competent authority could grant a dispensation to allow installations built prior to 1 January 1996 to be used for an additional temporary period (until 31 December 2005). However, Article 6 of the Directive stipulates that: áby 1 October 1997, the Commission shall submit to the Council a report, drawn up on the basis of an opinion from the Scientific Veterinary Committee, on the intensive pig-rearing system(s) which comply with the welfare requirements of pigs from the pathological, zootechnical, physiological and behavioural points of view and on the socio-economic implications of the different systems. The report shall particularly take into account the welfare of sows reared in varying degrees of confinement and in groups and shall be accompanied by appropriate proposals which take account of the conclusions of the reportí. The Council can assure the Honourable Member that, as soon as it has received the Commission report and any accompanying proposals, it will examine them with all the attention and speed necessary to enable it to act as soon as possible. (1) OJ L 340, 11. 12. 1991, p. 33. (98/C 134/22) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2658/97 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (1 September 1997) Subject: Links between BSE and CJD On 1 July 1997 Britainís Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) issued a paper, Research into the link between BSE and nvCJDí. The paper found that there was no evidence to refute the suggested link between BSE and CJD. But it also stated that the evidence to date was insufficient to make prove scientifically that there was a causative link between the two diseases