Assessment of economic and organizational impacts of measures recommended in EFSA reports to improve pig welfare

Presentation by Valérie Courboulay, Ifip engineer, at the 57th Pig Research Days in February 2025

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published three reports since 2020 on the welfare of pigs on farm, during transport and at slaughter. The aim of this study was to assess the cost of the key measures mentioned in these reports for French farms. At the farm level, these measures concern the absence of confinement for dry and lactating sows, the use of nesting materials, a 28-day weaning age, an increase in the fattening area with the presence of some solid floor, and exposure of pigs to no more than 10 ppm of ammonia. Technical solutions were identified in response to EFSA’s recommendations. Economic impacts were calculated per pig produced based on the cost of investment and, when appropriate, changes in the margin on feed costs when the weaning age changed from 21 to 28 days of age. Regarding transport, EFSA made recommendations about the maximum fasting duration, limiting the transport duration, increasing the area per pig and restricting transport during hot weather. At slaughter, EFSA recommendations raise questions about the two current methods of stunning (electric and CO2) and suggest expanding the criteria for non-transportable animals. Impacts of the measures at the transportation and slaughter stages were calculated per pig slaughtered. Depending on the measures, investment requirements ranged from a few tens of millions to over six billion euros. Combining several measures would require massive investment at the French farm level, estimated at 10 billion euros or more depending on the scenarios chosen. This highlights the need to choose which recommended measures to apply and to provide financial and technical support to farmers over a long transition period.

Video available on Ifip-WebTV here.