This paper is being presented in the FVE GA under item 11a for discussion and adoption. This paper has been discussed extensively within the Board and we appreciate that this has been a difficult job for the FVE Secretariat to carry out given the differing opinions and the way pigs are reared across Europe.
We concluded that the section on Welfare and Ethics should be altered. The reason is that different veterinary surgeons will have their own ethical position over the castration of not only pigs but other species. Our main concern was in the first sentence that stated ‘castration of pigs is in conflict with current animal welfare and ethics best practice’.
It was considered that this could be taken out of context with other species substituted for pigs and would be difficult for many member organisations to agree with.
The amendment the Board proposes would be delete ‘ethics’ out of the title and content and to substitute the following:
Non veterinarian castration of pigs is in conflict with current animal welfare and best practice because it has scientifically …. .
This proposal is for debate as an amendment to the FVE paper.