One of the world’s largest pork producers commits to better welfare for mother pigs
Blog
CP Foods promises to get pregnant mother pigs out of cages in its Thai operations by 2025. This is excellent news as we move further into our campaign to Raise Pigs Right.
By 2020, we aim to improve the lives of 175 million pigs every year, by alleviating the most intense suffering inflicted in the production system through close confinement and barren environments.
We're delighted to share the details of a recent step towards that goal.
Mother pigs in group housing with enrichment, and mechanical straw provision, which facilitates the managing of the material.
CP Foods
CP Foods is a large food production and industrial agriculture company with headquarters in Thailand that exports pork products to over 30 countries.
It has promised to ensure all its pregnant breeding mother pigs will be housed in opens pens with other mother pigs, known as group gestation pens, by 2025 in Thailand, and by 2028 for international operations.
CP Foods published this commitment as part of its 2017 sustainability plan.
In addition to this change on existing farms, as of 2017, all newly established farms for mother pigs will use group gestation pens in Thailand, and in other countries from this year.
As of the end of 2017, 24% of CP Foods’ mother pigs in Thailand were already living in higher welfare standards.
Our work with food producers
We began working with CP Foods at the beginning of this year as part of our Raise pigs right campaign, targeting supermarkets and food suppliers across the globe to end horribly cruel practices in factory farms.
Pigs exploring in the pen. Hanging objects are used as toys for pigs. Although pigs explore and play a bit with this hanging material, it is not the ideal enrichment as pigs need more manipulatable, edible, rootable and sufficient materials.
This exciting development from CP Foods comes after our successful work with fellow Thai company, Betagro. Last year, Betagro committed to getting mother pigs out of cages while pregnant and giving birth by 2027.
We also influenced Chinese company Zhejiang Qinglian Foods to become the first in China to commit to getting pregnant mother pigs out of cages by 2025.
There's more to do
"This is a significant step in improving the lives of pigs. CP Foods now need to put the wheels in motion to deliver on this commitment and meet their timeline of 2025 in Thailand and other countries by 2028," said Jacqueline Mills, head of our campaign.
"We must not forget that more needs to be done to improve the lives of pigs in farming: provision of manipulatable and rootable materials as enrichment to allow pigs to express their natural behavior, comfortable flooring, getting mother pigs out of farrowing cages, and ending cruel piglet mutilations which are often done with no pain relief."
"We want to see the world's biggest producers commit to end close confinement, barren environments and painful mutilations so that pigs can be pigs and live pain-free, move, play, root, explore, socialize and experience natural behavior."
Mother pigs in group housing without enrichment, on 100% slatted floor. Their ears are notched and tails are docked.
Your voice is vital to changing pigs' lives around the world and moving the farming industry to Raise Pigs Right.
Pregnant breeding mother pigs will be housed in opens pens with other mother pigs, known as group gestation pens, by 2025 in Thailand, and by 2028 for international operations.