RSPCA Are Meeting to day with Ministers.
Read Full Story Here
http://www.farmonline.com.au/news_daily.asp?ag_id=41965

It is about time this practise was stopped once and for all.

paleif, from the article:

"The pork industry uses sow stalls to limit aggressive behaviour between sows, to prevent accidental crushing of piglets by the sow, and to enable individual monitoring of sows."

How are the piglets protected without the stalls?

Same as wild piglets are, by giving the mothers plenty of room.

Maybe thats why they have such big litters then, to combat losses.

Unfortunately our modern day breeding and farming involve keeping temperatures for the pigs within certain parameters which for most necessitate housing. Both stalls and group housing have pluses and negatives. Injury/death is reported to be less with stalls due to the aggression of sows during pregnancy in a group situation. Group housing permits a more natural and presumably comfortable existence. Unless you are trampled by a 200kg sow.

The code of practice the RSPCA are against is an actual reduction of stall use to a max of 6 weeks during pregnancy. The RSPCA want it banned altogether. A difficult situation when some sows are very aggressive.

Rojo
What A load of Bull!
Here is a Pig Farmer who changed from intensive Back to Free range. its a big supplier.

Murray Free Range Piggery
15 Davis Lane Strathmerton Vic 3641
Phone: 03 5874 5229
Email: blklmurray@mcmedia.com.au
http://www.freerangefarmers.com/freerange/pigs_vic.html

Murray Free Range Piggery is located at 15 Davis Lane Strathmerton Vic is owned by BL & KL Murray. Five permanent staff work the 500 sow farrow to finish free range piggery with no other farming activities done.

With reference to the family history on top of what I have already told you about Dads farming history, his father was the original person to begin the pig farming in the family.

Grahame Murray a return soldier settler and farming industry entrepreneur tryed many different farming techniques and practices. He settled with pigs in an intensive style setup creating a large intensive farm. Bernard and Kerry after gaining a trade returned to the farm with his Brother and eventually took over. Bernard went his own way in 1995 moving out to Strathmerton beginning the free range pig farm. Bernard has been farming pigs for well over 30 years but changed over from intensive pig farming to free range pig farming around 12 years ago and has never looked back. The farm maintains a minimum disease status and is Quality Assurance accredited. Currently we sell to Castlemaine Small goods who sell our product as free range hams and bacons which you can find in all Woolworths, Safeway stores through out Australia.

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Rojo – Most sow aggression is caused by sheer frustration at their confined conditions. Group housing in farms that I am aware of, are a sham. Sows packed in so tight they still cant move. In deed, far more dangerous than a sow stall, but just as inhumane.

The only thing that will protect them and their piglets from harm is space, something the intensive pig farmers have no intention of providing.

Anyway, it would make it all too difficult to administer all those drugs they need to stop rampant disease and to manipulate their growth wouldn’t it?