Herman Vermeer

Introduction:In 1998 the Dutch government issued that from 2013 sows must be housed in social groups within 5 days after insemination, in addition to EC directive 2008/120. In 2014, the government issued a project to aid farmers, which had reported, on request, negative effects of group housing in the first 4 weeks on welfare and reproduction (n=347), to overcome these effects. Focus of the projec ...

1. IntroductionThe Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs would like to see an increased number of pig production chains addressing improved pig welfare. The sustainable pork chain called “De Hoeve” wants to be at the forefront in taking the next step in the area of animal welfare. This step consists of no longer docking the tails of the piglets. Up to now, not docking in conventional pig ...