Lawsuit to stop Dutch farmers amputating piglets' tails

Animal rights organization Varkens in Nood is starting a court case against the State because pigtails are still being amputated illegally. The organization is doing this to ensure that the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) will enforce the rules on five large pig farmers who have been structurally burning off pigtails.

Since 1991, it has been forbidden to routinely amputate pigtails to prevent the animals from biting each other's tails. The law makes exceptions if all other measures against the biting are unsuccessful. However, according to the animal rights organization, pig farmers often ignore measures such as improving the living environment or keeping fewer pigs per square meter and immediately start burning off tails.

The NVWA is not yet taking action against companies that amputate tails. Varkens in Nood is using a lawsuit to force the Ministry of Agriculture, which the supervisor falls under, to comply with the law.

Director Frederieke Schouten of Varkens in Nood called it "horrific enough that companies amputate body parts of piglets for a miserable life in too small and unsuitable stables. But it is downright bizarre that the supervisor has been looking the other way for years while so many companies violate the law on a daily basis."

The NVWA stated that the current legislation does not clearly state when a pig farmer is allowed to amputate tails. As a result, the regulator cannot determine when the rules are violated and cannot enforce them. According to the NVWA, tails may be removed if measures to prevent tail biting have not helped and if it can be demonstrated that the biting has harmed the animals.

The regulator will intervene in cases of overcrowded pens and pens that do not adequately protect the welfare of the pigs, factors that can also contribute to tail biting. The NVWA is also conducting a so-called compliance measurement to determine whether the welfare rules in pig farming are being complied with. This measurement also looks at the handling of biting behavior.

The Ministry of Agriculture emphasized that it is pursuing a policy of phasing out pigtail amputation. "A deadline was set for this in 2019, namely 2030." According to the ministry, tackling the causes of tail biting requires a "fundamental adjustment of business operations" that simply takes more time.