Illegal conditions in Danish pig rearing

14.9.2015

Question for written answer E-012763-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Jeppe Kofod (S&D)

The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration today published its annual report on animal welfare in Denmark. It concluded that efforts to improve animal welfare in Denmark were going well on the whole. However, at no point did the report mention that between 95 and 99% of piglets in Denmark still have their tails docked.

Against this background, could the Commission please answer the following:

• 1.Will the Commission contact the Danish minister and impress on her that routine tail-docking of piglets is illegal?
• 2.Does the Commission consider that the Danish authorities are correctly interpreting the law when they state that the routine tail-docking which has been shown to take place for 95 to 99% of all Danish piglets does not conflict with the ban on the routine tail-docking of piglets, and if so, will the Commission define how the ban should be interpreted?
• 3.Will the Commission follow up on its comments at the last two meetings and bring actual proceedings against the Danish authorities if they do not act to combat these systematic violations of the law?