Council Directive 2008/120/EC of 18 December 2008 laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs (Codified version) - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 47/5

Council Directive 91/630/EEC of 19 November 1991 laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs (2) has been substantially amended several times (3). In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be codified.

Most Member States have ratified the European Convention for the protection of animals kept for farming purposes. The Community has also approved this Convention by Council Decision 78/923/EEC (4).

Council Directive 98/58/EC of 20 July 1998 concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes (5) establishes Community provisions applying to all farmed animals in relation to construction requirements for animal housing, insulation, heating and ventilation conditions, equipment inspection and inspection of livestock. It is therefore necessary to deal with these matters in this Directive when more detailed requirements have to be established.

Pigs, being live animals, are included in the list of products set out in Annex I to the Treaty.

The keeping of pigs is an integral part of agriculture. It constitutes a source of revenue for part of the agricultural population.

Differences which may distort conditions of competition interfere with the smooth running of the organisation of the common market in pigs and pig products.

There is therefore a need to establish common minimum standards for the protection of pigs kept for rearing and fattening in order to ensure rational development of production.

Pigs should benefit from an environment corresponding to their needs for exercise and investigatory behaviour. The welfare of pigs appears to be compromised by severe restrictions of space.

When pigs are kept in groups, appropriate management measures for their protection should be taken to improve their welfare.

Sows prefer to have social interactions with other pigs when provided with freedom of movement and environmental complexity. Keeping sows in continuous close confinement should therefore be prohibited.

Tail-docking, tooth-clipping and tooth-grinding are likely to cause immediate pain and some prolonged pain to pigs. Castration is likely to cause prolonged pain which is worse if there is tearing of the tissues. Those practices are therefore detrimental to the welfare of pigs, especially when carried out by incompetent and inexperienced persons. As consequence, rules should be laid down to ensure better practices.

A balance should be kept between the various aspects to be taken into consideration, as regarding welfare including health, economic and social considerations, and also environmental impact.

It is necessary for official services, producers, consumers and others to be kept informed of developments in this field. The Commission should therefore, on the basis of an opinion from the European Food Safety Authority, actively pursue scientific research into the best pig-rearing system(s) from the point of view of pig welfare. Provision should accordingly be made for an interim period to enable the Commission to complete this task successfully.

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (6).

This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time limits for transposition into national law of the Directives set out in Annex II, Part B,

‘pig’ means an animal of the porcine species, of any age, kept for breeding or fattening;

‘boar’ means a male pig after puberty, intended for breeding;

‘gilt’ means a female pig after puberty and before farrowing;

‘sow’ means a female pig after the first farrowing;

‘farrowing sow’ means a female pig between the perinatal period and the weaning of the piglets;

‘dry pregnant sow’ means a sow between weaning her piglets and the perinatal period;

‘piglet’ means a pig from birth to weaning;

‘weaner’ means a pig from weaning to the age of 10 weeks;

‘rearing pig’ means a pig from 10 weeks to slaughter or service;

‘competent authority’ means a competent authority within the meaning of Article 2(6) of Council Directive 90/425/EEC of 26 June 1990 concerning veterinary and zootechnical checks applicable in intra-Community trade in certain live animals and products with a view to the completion of the internal market (7).

the unobstructed floor area available to each weaner or rearing pig kept in a group, excluding gilts after service and sows, must be at least:

the total unobstructed floor area available to each gilt after service and to each sow when gilts and/or sows are kept in groups must be at least 1,64 m2 and 2,25 m2 respectively. When these animals are kept in groups of fewer than six individuals the unobstructed floor area must be increased by 10 %. When these animals are kept in groups of 40 or more individuals the unobstructed floor area may be decreased by 10 %.

for gilts after service and pregnant sows: a part of the area required in paragraph 1(b), equal to at least 0,95 m2 per gilt and at least 1,3 m2 per sow, must be of continuous solid floor of which a maximum of 15 % is reserved for drainage openings;

when concrete slatted floors are used for pigs kept in groups:

any person who employs or engages persons to attend to pigs ensures that the person attending to the animals has received instructions and guidance on the relevant provisions of Article 3 and Annex I;

appropriate training courses are available. In particular such training courses must focus on welfare aspects.

the effects of stocking density, including group size and methods of grouping the animals, in different farming systems on the welfare, including health, of pigs;

the impact of stall design and different flooring types on the welfare, including health, of pigs, taking into account different climatic conditions;

the risk factors associated with tail-biting and recommendations to reduce the need for tail-docking;

further developments of group-housing systems for pregnant sows, taking account both of pathological, zootechnical, physiological and ethological aspects of the various systems and of their health and environmental impact and of the different climatic conditions;

the determination of space requirements, including the service area for individually housed adult breeding boars;

further developments of loose-house systems for sows in the service area and for farrowing sows which meet the needs of the sow without compromising piglet survival;

consumers’ attitudes and behaviour towards pigmeat in the event of different levels of improvement in the welfare of the animals;

socioeconomic implications of the various systems of rearing pigs and their effects on the Community’s economic partners.

In the part of the building where pigs are kept continuous noise levels as loud as 85 dBA shall be avoided. Constant or sudden noise shall be avoided.

Pigs must be kept in light with an intensity of at least 40 lux for a minimum period of eight hours per day.

The accommodation for pigs must be constructed in such a way as to allow the animals to:

Notwithstanding Article 3(5), pigs must have permanent access to a sufficient quantity of material to enable proper investigation and manipulation activities, such as straw, hay, wood, sawdust, mushroom compost, peat or a mixture of such, which does not compromise the health of the animals.

Floors must be smooth but not slippery so as to prevent injury to the pigs and so designed, constructed and maintained as not to cause injury or suffering to pigs. They must be suitable for the size and weight of the pigs and, if no litter is provided, form a rigid, even and stable surface.

All pigs must be fed at least once a day. Where pigs are fed in groups and not ad libitum or by an automatic system feeding the animals individually, each pig must have access to the food at the same time as the others in the group.

All pigs over two weeks of age must have permanent access to a sufficient quantity of fresh water.

All procedures intended as an intervention carried out for other than therapeutic or diagnostic purposes or for the identification of the pigs in accordance with relevant legislation and resulting in damage to or the loss of a sensitive part of the body or the alteration of bone structure shall be prohibited with the following exceptions:

Measures shall be taken to minimise aggression in groups.

Pregnant sows and gilts must, if necessary, be treated against external and internal parasites. If they are placed in farrowing crates, pregnant sows and gilts must be thoroughly cleaned.

In the week before the expected farrowing time sows and gilts must be given suitable nesting material in sufficient quantity unless it is not technically feasible for the slurry system used in the establishment.

An unobstructed area behind the sow or gilt must be available for the ease of natural or assisted farrowing.

Farrowing pens where sows are kept loose must have some means of protecting the piglets, such as farrowing rails.

A part of the total floor, sufficient to allow the animals to rest together at the same time, must be solid or covered with a mat, or be littered with straw or any other suitable material.

Where a farrowing crate is used, the piglets must have sufficient space to be able to be suckled without difficulty.

No piglets shall be weaned from the sow at less than 28 days of age unless the welfare or health of the dam or the piglet would otherwise be adversely affected.

However, piglets may be weaned up to seven days earlier if they are moved into specialised housings which are emptied and thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before the introduction of a new group and which are separated from housings where sows are kept, in order to minimise the transmission of diseases to the piglets.

When pigs are kept in groups, measures must be taken to prevent fighting which goes beyond normal behaviour.

They should be kept in groups with as little mixing as possible. If pigs unfamiliar with one another have to be mixed, this should be done at as young an age as possible, preferably before or up to one week after weaning. When pigs are mixed they shall be provided with adequate opportunities to escape and hide from other pigs.

When signs of severe fighting appear the causes shall be immediately investigated and appropriate measures taken, such as providing plentiful straw to the animals, if possible, or other materials for investigation. Animals at risk or particularly aggressive animals shall be kept separate from the group.

The use of tranquillising medicaments in order to facilitate mixing shall be limited to exceptional conditions and only after consultation with a veterinarian.