Pig Producers Face Radical Housing Changes
Issued 18thOctober 2001
New EU regulations will result in major changes in pig housing systems over the coming years, according to a Teagasc expert.
The new regulations, which are part of an EU move to more welfare friendly farming, involve the banning of individual penning of sows for the greater part of pregnancy and the elimination of sow tethering.
Dr Peadar Lawlor of Teagasc Moorepark told this week's Teagasc regional pig conferences that the new regulations require sow tethers, which have been the most popular method of sow housing in Ireland, to be replaced by 2006.
''The new regulations will go further and will also ban individual sow stalls in new houses from 2003 and in existing houses from 2013. When the new regulations come into force, sows may still be kept in individual stalls until four weeks after mating. This will allow formation of groups of evenly matched animals and allow individual attention to thin sows'', he said.
''While the twelve-year phase out period is welcome, it will still see replacement of many installations before reaching the end of their useful life. The change to group housing will also require more floor space and additional building if herd sizes are to be maintained'', he added.
Dr Lawlor said sow housing is but one element of the new EU rules. Solid floors are encouraged and slatted floors are discouraged despite the benefits of hygienic perforated flooring for disease control. Dimensions of concrete slats are to be specified but will not have a major impact on Irish producers.
''The requirements for floor space for pigs in various weight ranges are similar to current practice in Ireland and so will have little effect on housing systems. The requirement to provide bedding and manipulative material to pigs could prove difficult to implement in the fully slatted flooring, which is popular in Ireland, and will also make it more difficult to keep pigs clean'', he said.
In anticipation of the new EU rules, Teagasc has conducted research on alternative systems of housing. Research by Dr Laura Boyle and Eva Lewis at Moorepark Research Centre has identified a housing system called ''free access stalls'' as the most promising option for the future.
Dr Lawlor said scarcity of straw for bedding will rule out widespread use of the sow housing systems which are most popular in the UK.
The conferences, which took place in Longford, Kilkenny and Mallow this week, are part of the Teagasc programme aimed at updating pig producers on critical aspects of pig production, economics and marketing.
