Fully slatted floor

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The slatted floor management is a widespread attitude form of pigs and cattle in conventional agriculture. As a rule, the fully slatted floor is a concrete floor in which the columns are embedded. The faeces and urine of the animals fall or run through these crevices into the manure pit below . In contrast to the partially slatted floor, which also has a paved area, the entire area of ​​the fully slatted floor is covered with slatted floor panels .

Legal regulations in Germany

Pigs

In the 5th section of the Animal Welfare and Livestock Keeping Ordinance , requirements for keeping pigs, it is stipulated that the maximum slit width for suckling pigs may be 11 mm, for weaners 14 mm and for fattening pigs 18 mm. The step width between the gaps must be 50 mm for piglets and 80 mm for fattening pigs. The floor may consist of metal mesh or concrete.

Bovine

Section 2 of the Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Husbandry Ordinance reads: Requirements for keeping calves. Calves are defined as cattle up to 6 months of age. The maximum column width is 25 mm, the minimum tread width of the bars 80 mm.

Statutory regulations in Austria

Pigs

Around 60% of the pigs in Austria are kept on fully slatted floors. Straw is not strewn with this type of farming. Only 11% of the pigs in Austria are kept on straw.

In the so-called Pig Ordinance, Appendix 5 of the 1st Animal Husbandry Ordinance, it is stipulated that the gap width for piglets must be 10 mm and the distance between the gaps must be 50 mm. In fattening pigs, the gaps are 18 mm wide and 80 mm apart. Piglets are usually kept on plastic bars and metal grids, fattening pigs on concrete floors.

Translation error in the "Pig Ordinance"

The EU directive 2008/120 / EG on keeping pigs was incorrectly translated from English into German.

In the English version, the corresponding passage reads as follows:

"The accommodation for pigs must be constructed in such a way as to allow the animals to have access to a lying area physically and thermally comfortable [...]."

- COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2008/120 / EC

In the German version, however, it says:

"The pigsties must be built in such a way that the animals have access to a lying area that is appropriate in terms of size and temperature [...]."

- DIRECTIVE 2008/120 / EC

The phrase physically comfortable has been mistranslated as appropriate in size . According to the Verein gegen Tierfabriken (Austria) , the facts were communicated to the Ombudsman's Office , which initiated a review process and subsequently discovered an irregularity. According to the Ombudsman's Office, the translation error has to be corrected by the legislator and the Austrian pig keeping has to be adapted accordingly to the regulation.

Bovine

The minimum requirements for the keeping of cattle are laid down in Appendix 2 of the 1st Animal Husbandry Ordinance. The fully slatted floor may consist of concrete, plastic and metal gratings. The column width for cattle up to 200 kg is set at 25 mm, for cattle over 200 kg at 35 mm and for suckler cows with calves at 30 mm. In combination with tethering , the column width may be 40 mm. The animal is given 60 cm of freedom of movement in the longitudinal direction and 40 cm in the transverse direction.

Criticism of the fully slatted floor in pig farming

Scientific knowledge

Several studies conclude that fully slatted flooring in pigs leads to an increased injury and mortality rate.

Joint inflammation

Scientific staff from the University of Munich's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine autopsied a total of 948 pig carcasses in three different slaughterhouses. It was found that 92% of all pigs that were previously kept on fully slatted floors developed inflammation in the joints.

Another scientific study showed that out of a total of 720 pigs examined, on average all fully slatted pigs suffered from joint inflammation. Pigs that were kept on straw, however, showed no joint inflammation.

Increased mortality

The excrement in the manure pit forms ammonia , which irritates the pigs' eyes and respiratory tract. As a result, fully slatted pigs are more likely to develop eye and pneumonia than pigs raised on straw. Fully slatted pigs have higher levels of stress and are more likely to develop stomach ulcers than pigs that are kept alternatively. The structurelessness of the bays and the lack of varied activities lead to cannibalism, e.g. in the form of ear and tail biting. The mortality rate in fully slatted flooring is three times as high as in pigs kept on straw.

Animal protection work in Austria

The Verein gegen Tierfabriken is campaigning for a ban on fully slatted floors in pig farming. According to a survey carried out by the Gallup Institute, 83% of the Austrian population are in favor of a ban on fully slatted floors. 96% of those surveyed want pigs to be strewn with straw. In the summer of 2019, a total of three slatted floors was voted on in the National Council . Each time the application was rejected by the MPs of the ÖVP and FPÖ .

In February 2020, the Ministry of Animal Welfare announced that it would reform the regulation on keeping pigs. The translation error of the EU directive is to be corrected.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Husbandry Ordinance. Accessed on May 19, 2020.
  2. ^ Housing procedures for pigs Website of Statistics Austria. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  3. ^ 1. Animal husbandry ordinance website of the legal information system of the federal government. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  4. ↑ EU Directive 2008/120 / EG EUR-Lex online portal on EU law. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  5. ↑ Ombudsman Board establishes maladministration in pig farming Webnews of the association against animal factories. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  6. ↑ Answer to Parliamentary Question No. 297 / J Accessed on May 13, 2020.
  7. ↑ Studies on the occurrence of accessory bursa in fattening pigs Dissertation (2015) by Sabine Oberländer. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  8. ↑ a b Guy et al. 2002, Livestock Production Science 75, 233-243.
  9. ↑ Scott et al. 2006, Livestock Science 103, 104-115.
  10. ↑ Campaign for a ban on fully slatted floors in pig farming Website of the Verein Gegen Tierfabriken. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  11. ↑ Gallup survey on keeping pigs on fully slatted floors Presentation by DDr. Martin Balluch. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  12. ↑ FPÖ rejects animal welfare applications from the list NOW. Accessed on May 13, 2020.
  13. ↑ Answer to Parliamentary Question No. 297 / J Accessed on May 13, 2020.