I propose to take Questions Nos. 394 and 396 together.
My Department is fully committed to ensuring compliance with the legal requirements as set out in Council Directives 98/58/EC and 2008/120/EC and Commission Recommendation 2016/336 on measures to ensure the rearing of pigs with intact tails.
My Department has communicated with all stakeholders on the details of the Commissioner's letter and has implemented a number of initiatives to support the rearing pigs with intact tails, including the following:
1. A Pig Stakeholder Implementation Group involving all the key stakeholders in the Irish pig sector has been established by my Department. The issue of raising pigs with intact tails has been regularly discussed by this group and at other stakeholder subcommittee meetings and discussion groups to ensure that the challenge of rearing pigs with intact tails is understood and a way forward is set out.
2. A Pig Tails Pilot Scheme on rearing pigs with intact tails was carried out by my Department in conjunction with representatives from pig farmers' representative body.
3. Based on this pilot, a specifically focussed Intact Tails Inspection Programme has begun. This involves trained veterinary inspectors carrying out a series of regulatory visits to pig farms to identify and determine welfare deficits. The programme is designed to assist and support pig farmers move to successfully rearing pigs with intact tails. The programme commenced in September 2020. Seven pig farm inspections have been carried out to date and the programme is ongoing.
4. Complementary to the Intact Tails Inspection Programme and in conjunction with my Department and Teagasc, Animal Health Ireland (AHI) has delivered a training programme for private veterinarians on pig health and welfare issues, who, with support under Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, are now providing free on-farm advice, identifying risks which contribute to tail biting, and helping farmers to devise effective on-farm solutions and action plans.
5. The Pig Sector is also catered for under the current Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme of TAMS II, where a budget has been earmarked under Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. This scheme provides financial support to farmers for infrastructure improvements, for example design of pens, flooring, ventilation systems, wall and roof insulation and structures for holding enrichment materials, which all can impact of the need for tail docking.