Uncertainty among Austrian pig farmers regarding the new animal welfare standards that their government wants to impose

The Austrian government decided in 2022, through an amendment to the Animal Welfare Act, to ban slatted floors in all pig farms. He also agreed that the pigs had to have their own resting area. In order for this new rule to allow the protection of existing investments and be less traumatic for ranchers, a transition period was set until 2040 for existing farms. The ban is in force from January 1, 2023 for new farms. However, a ruling by the Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH) at the beginning of January this year ruled that the initially planned transition period of 17 years was too long and not objectively justified. Therefore, the government must now shorten the deadline and has until June 2025 to do so. The Minister of Public Health has proposed shortening the deadline until 2030 and that during this transitional period, farms with the largest budget be financially supported. At the same time, the minister wants to further improve pig farming conditions by providing more pen ...