The animal rights activists are calling for Switzerland to follow the example of pig farming, where fully slatted flooring was banned for all farms on September 1, 2018.
In Switzerland, the transition period for a ban on fully slatted floors expired six years ago on September 1, 2018, while in Austria a deadline until 2040 is being discussed. Agriculture Minister Totschnig could take an example. However, the alternative in Switzerland is also not exemplary, as there is no mandatory straw bedding in the lying area. But because Austria has so far lagged behind Switzerland for decades when it comes to pig protection, a big step would now be necessary: double the space with a soft lying area instead of a full slatted floor. And all this within a manageable transition period. Anything else would be unacceptable.
DDr. Martin Balluch
Lustenau/Vorarlberg (OTS) – The ÖVP, in the person of its Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig, continues to prevent a solution to the fully slatted floor for pigs. The Constitutional Court has also confirmed that the animals are exposed to severe suffering in this attitude by declaring the transition period until its abolition, which was 18 years, to be too long and repealing it in the Animal Protection Act. But the ÖVP refuses to make corrections to the law so that this animal suffering can finally end. That’s why animal rights activists nationwide use every opportunity to confront the Minister of Agriculture with their demands. This was also the case today in Lustenau on the occasion of a treaty between Vorarlberg and Switzerland on flood protection. In the Dornbirn district, where Lustenau is located, 28% of the pigs have straw, in Vorarlberg it is 43%. However, the majority of pork on offer here is from completely slatted floor farming. Citizens in Vorarlberg are also calling for a nationwide end to this animal cruelty.
VGT chairman DDr. Martin Balluch comments: “In Switzerland, the transition period for a ban on fully slatted floors expired six years ago on September 1, 2018, while in Austria a deadline until 2040 is being discussed. Agriculture Minister Totschnig could take an example. However, the alternative in Switzerland is also not exemplary, as there is no mandatory straw bedding in the lying area. But because Austria has so far lagged behind Switzerland for decades when it comes to pig protection, a big step would now be necessary: double the space with a soft lying area instead of a full slatted floor. And all this within a manageable transition period. Anything else would be unacceptable.
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