Swedish supermarkets threaten ban against Danish pork

By Gerard O’Dwyer, in Helsinki

- Last updated on GMT

ICA said it had been unaware of this inhumane practice
ICA said it had been unaware of this inhumane practice

Related tags Pig Pork Sweden Livestock

Swedish supermarkets, led by major chain the ICA Group, are threatening to suspend imports of Danish pork following reports by animal rights organisations complaining about the culling of up to 500,000 under-weight newborn piglets, weighing less than 1kg, on Danish farms each year.

This cost-saving measure is banned in Sweden’s welfare legislation, and normally involves striking the heads of the weakest piglets on concrete floors, claim the animal rights groups.

The revelation has caused supermarket chains, including ICA, Willys, Netto and Coop, to threaten to boycott Danish pork.

"We were not aware of this inhumane practice. For us it is important that no animal suffers unnecessarily. We also expect farmers to follow the animal care guidelines that exist in their countries, in this case Denmark. We will now pursue this issue with our Danish suppliers, and consider what other action we may need to take,"​ ICA spokesperson Ulrika Borg told GlobalMeatNews​.

Chains are mulling a possible demand that all Danish pork sold to the Swedish market be sourced from farms that comply with Swedish farm animal care practices and standards.

The Danske Svineproducenter (DSP/Danish Pig Producers Association) has defended the culling practice, however.

"Instead of waiting for the weakest pigs to die, we humanely kill them. The most humane method is to hold the piglet by its hind legs and strike its head on a concrete floor,"​ said Hans Aarestrup, the DSP’s director.

Research figures, backed by the DSP, estimate that Danish pig farmers can save up to DKK500,000 (US$75,000) per 1,000 sows annually using the culling method for newborn piglets weighing less than 1kg. 

However, the Lantbrukarnas Riksförbund (LRF), Sweden’s farmers’ federation, supported the Swedish ban on the practice.

"In Sweden, piglets can only be put down if they are found to be so seriously ill to be incurable. The objective is always to ensure that as many as possible can survive. We want to maintain these high standards in Sweden, and our food companies have acted forcefully on this,"​ said Bo Algers, an animal hygiene expert at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet) and consultant to the LRF.

Sweden imported 142,000 tonnes of pig meat products in 2014. Around 75% of this quantity was sourced from suppliers in Denmark and Germany. Some 80% of the pork sold through ICA stores is sourced from farms in Sweden, while the other 20% is mainly imported from Denmark.

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