Opinions of Members of the European Parliament regarding lack of compliance with the Council Directive on Pigs

Abstract: The reality of current pig production practices in the European Union is that a majority of Member States are in violation of current legislation. This violation of minimum level legislation has been ongoing for several years. The latest version of the directive of pigs is Council Directive 2008/120/EC of 18 December 2008 laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs, which clearly states that provision of manipulable material is a requirement. In addition tail docking is not to be performed on a routine basis. Before tail docking farmers must first try to prevent tail biting by changing inadequate environmental conditions. In recent years this issue has drawn attention from various directions; universities, animal welfare societies, European Parliament’s Intergroup on Animal Welfare and Member State Ministers, yet the issue remains unresolved. The aim of this study was to collect and analyse the opinions of Members of Parliament regarding the subject of lack of compliance with the Directive on Pigs, as well as to investigate how involved Members of Parliament are in the issue. This was done through an email questionnaire. The results should be interpreted with caution. The knowledge of Members of Parliament on pig welfare legislation is varied and the actual knowledge of the current situation is very diverse. The issue of lack of compliance to current legislation has different views of prioritization among Members of Parliament. However full compliance is of importance. Members of Parliament express that the European Commission has not actively lived up to their role in the issue of non-compliance among Member States. It can be concluded that there is a wide variation in the perceptions of Members of Parliament regarding lack of compliance with the Council Directive 2008/120/EC of 18 December 2008 laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs. Furthermore through strict office policies of some Members of Parliament to not answer surveys, it is impossible to examine what issues these politicians are prioritizing to work with. This study presents a first glimpse at the attention paid to pig welfare amongst Members of Parliament and the attitudes towards non-compliance with current legislation. Members of Parliament expect the European Commission to do more on the issue of non-compliance to pig legislation. It is of the utmost importance that the Commission takes urgent action to improve the compliance rate among Member States to the Directive on Pigs.