The Chairman of the Danish Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Sector for Pigs, HC Gæmelke, is reacting sharply to the government’s plan to put the development of Danish pig production on hold.
The reaction comes after Minister for Nature and Animal Welfare Christian Rabjerg Madsen announced that the government will slow down investments in and development of production.
HC Gæmelke says: “It is difficult to understand that the government is putting the industry on hold indefinitely. It creates a great deal of uncertainty about the future. We have agreed to the pig four-party agreement to develop Danish pig production, not to wind it down. We do not know when the pig four-party agreement will have finished its work and what it will contain”.
The government wants more and better animal welfare, but at the same time stops the investments that are supposed to make it possible. Because now no further investment is allowed in the sector, and this is hitting our development hard.
If the sows are to roam more freely and the pigs are to have more space, it obviously requires more square meters. A stop to new and larger barns will maintain production within the current framework instead of improving animal welfare.
The halt will hit investments immediately. Producers with concrete construction plans will have to put them on hold, and banks will not lend money when no one knows what rules will apply in six months or a year.
– It is not only the individual farm that will feel the investment peak, it will also affect local craftsmen, in the agro-industry and rural areas”, emphasizes HC Gæmelke.
