Here is the reason for your cheap pork roast: Tethered sows, dead piglets, and docked tails

The most surprising thing about this article is that none of what you are about to read is new. For decades, we have been discussing in Denmark how we treat the 40 million pigs born each year in Danish barns. That’s nearly 700 times more creatures than human babies born, and most of them live a life that experts say is worse than what the Animal Welfare Act allows.

Nine million die as piglets. Their mothers, the sows, are confined in stalls so small that the largest of them can barely move a step. Over 95 percent of piglets have their tails docked, most male piglets also lose their testicles, and pigs that grow to 100 kg heavy slaughter pigs must make do with 0.65 square meters of space.

The list goes on, but now Bengt Holst, chairman of the Danish Animal Ethics Council, gets the floor. Last year, the council issued a strongly critical statement about Denmark’s pig farming, the first since 1993.

»We were surprised by how little progress has been made. Some conditions have even gone the wrong way«, he says.

The Danish Animal Ethics Council concludes that Denmark’s conventional pig farming does not live up to the intentions behind the most basic provisions of the Animal Welfare Act: That animals »must be protected as best as possible from pain, suffering, fear, and lasting harm«, and that they must be cared for »with consideration for their physiological, behavioral, and health needs«.

»These are living beings, not cans we are dealing with. Changes are needed, even if production becomes more expensive as a result. For too many years, economic considerations have been prioritized over the welfare of the pigs«, says Bengt Holst.

He returns to tail docking, which the EU banned from being performed routinely 32 years ago, but several countries, including Denmark, consistently use exceptions to the ban.

»It’s not right. New thinking is needed because voluntary measures have not been sufficient. Legislation is needed«, Bengt Holst believes.

Pigs bite tails when they are distressed

He is far from alone in this. A citizen proposal gathered the necessary 50,000 signatures in record time before the election and must therefore be considered by the newly elected members of parliament. The proposal demands that the Animal Welfare Act be adhered to. This would entail a stop to tail docking and better space for the pigs. According to Bengt Holst, it is taken directly from the recommendations of the Animal Ethics Council.

Already early in the election campaign, left-wing parties called for better animal welfare for pigs. Most recently, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (Socialdemokratiet, S) and Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Moderaterne, M) have both spoken in favor of improving conditions for pigs. However, they do not mention that production will fall dramatically if pigs are to be treated better.

Take the tails, for example. Pigs bite each other because they are distressed. In nature, they spend their days rooting for food and engaging in activities. In a barn, they stand still on a concrete floor, often with slats through it, and with minimal to occupy themselves. Two sticks fastened to the stall walls, which the pigs can bite, are deemed sufficient by the authorities.

Having half of the approximately ten cm long tail clipped from birth is not the worst thing pigs experience in their short lives, according to experts. But a wagging tail is an irresistible temptation for a pig with very little space and nothing to do. So John Haugegaard, chairman of the Pig Group in the Danish Veterinary Association, knows well what will happen if pigs keep their tails without getting more space and more to root in.

»They will bite until the blood sprays. As long as we allow a pig of 110 kg to have 0.65 square meters, it makes no sense to ban tail docking«, he says.

For John Haugegaard, the biggest problem is breeding. A sow now has 6.5 more piglets on average per litter than in 2009, and in some herds, the number of sows has not been reduced. Instead, they wean the piglets earlier to make room in the barns.

»It increases stress levels, causes more weaning diarrhea, and increases antibiotic use. It’s frustrating. Too many herds are running too hard. I don’t think it’s acceptable. But the economy drives Danish pig production. The more pigs, the better the economy«, says John Haugegaard.

He adds that higher efficiency reduces the climate impact of pork.

Large parts of pig farming will close

According to John Haugegaard, Danish pig production is adapted to poor animal welfare. So how many farms will have to close if it is to comply with the law on providing proper conditions for the animals?

»Some pig producers will stop, but the large, newly built herds with modern technology will be able to make it work«, he predicts.

It’s a cautious assessment. The other experts Politiken has spoken to predict more dramatic consequences.

»It’s hard to see producers significantly improving animal welfare while continuing to compete in the international market«, says Professor Lene Juul Pedersen from Aarhus University.

She has been researching pigs since the 1990s. Back then, legislation was introduced that sows could no longer be confined while pregnant. But it is still allowed in the days when they are farrowing.

»We don’t confine any other animals in that way«, says the professor.

She lists that the conditions for pigs have gotten worse in some respects. The sows have become larger as they give birth to more piglets, and the largest ones now often lie with their heads on the edge of the feed trough. They have become too big for the stall. There is generally less straw and hay in the barns because the slatted floors that carry the slurry out of the barns cannot handle it. And the large litters produce less robust piglets and higher mortality.

In Sweden, pigs have better conditions than here: A ban on confining sows, requirements for more space, more straw and hay, and the Swedes comply with the EU ban on tail docking.

»That’s why the Swedes have long been on Denmark’s case. They have to comply with the same EU law as us. We just don’t comply with the ban on routine tail docking«, says Lene Juul Pedersen.

Birgitte Damm, chief consultant at Animal Protection Denmark, puts it even more sharply:

»We produce the cheapest piglets in Europe. We do this by tail docking, by giving antibiotics, by providing very little space, by not providing bedding, by having very few people to care for them. That’s why our production is so large. That’s why the pork roast is so cheap. We sweep away those who comply with the EU ban«.

When Politiken asks her to explain why animal welfare has not improved over the decades it has been debated, she sends a three-page list of all the working groups that have been set up since 1998 to solve the problems.

»Over the years, there have been delaying tactics in the form of working groups, action plans, and voluntary agreements with the industry without consequences if they are not adhered to«, Birgitte Damm concludes.

Denmark is above the middle

However, pigs do not fare worse in Danish barns than in most other countries. A comparison that Professor Peter Sandøe from the University of Copenhagen conducts annually places animal welfare in Danish barns »at the nice end of the middle«, as he puts it.

»It’s not great to be a pig in Denmark. But apart from Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Switzerland, the challenges with animal welfare are a common problem in Europe, and in other parts of the world, it’s much worse«, he says.

According to Peter Sandøe, Danish law has not significantly improved conditions for pigs in more than 20 years.

»Despite many fine declarations of intent, almost nothing has happened. It’s worrying«, he says.

Conversely, Danes are not willing to pay the premium for organic pigs, which have much better animal welfare. Production has dramatically declined in recent years and was down to 160,000 pigs a year in 2024, many of which were exported. And Sweden, with its stricter animal welfare rules, cannot supply the domestic market with pork but imports meat from countries with poorer animal welfare.

As H.C. Gæmelke, chairman of the interest organization Danish Agriculture and Food Council sector for Pigs, points out, there is currently no large market for pork produced with better animal welfare.

»When the Swedish consumer goes to the refrigerated section, they get something other than Swedish meat because they cannot produce enough for themselves«, he says.

H.C. Gæmelke denies that pig welfare is poor, but he has no doubt that it would be impossible to maintain production if we had the same rules as Sweden.

Haven’t you then competed on poor animal welfare?

»Certainly not. We follow the law, and there has been consensus that it provided good animal welfare. But society is moving, and I have a different view on animal welfare than when I started 20 years ago«, he replies.

»Every single dead pig is a loss«

H.C. Gæmelke emphasizes that the agriculture has a plan for at least two million pigs next year to be produced with whole tails, which should increase to four million in 2028.

»There is no market for it, but we want to produce pigs with whole tails because we know it is a sign of better animal welfare«, he says.

How is it that nine million pigs still die in Danish barns every year?

»We are fighting to reduce it, and the curve has been broken. Every single dead pig is a loss for us. If it were in Spain, it might be double the number«, says H.C. Gæmelke.

Outgoing Minister of Food Jacob Jensen (Vesntre, V) does not agree to an interview. He has sent a written comment. It does not answer Politiken’s questions but highlights an animal welfare agreement from 2024. It contains initiatives for better animal welfare, which according to experts, however, only address a few of the problems.

»Many of the critical voices we hear in the debate today have been part of a majority in parliament for many years and thus had every opportunity to implement concrete actions and measures – without anything happening. On my watch, legislation and clear requirements have been made«, he writes.