RSPCA: Consumers have the power to save pigs bacon

Thursday, 29 July 2010 12:00 AM

A survey by YouGov* for the RSPCA has found more than six out of 10 (64 per cent) shoppers who bought ham, sausages, bacon or pork in the last six months want to choose higher welfare products like Freedom Food or free range, but may not be able to because of a lack of clear labelling.

The majority of the 160 million pigs raised annually in Europe for meat are kept in conditions that do not meet some of their most basic needs, which the RSPCA finds unacceptable.

In response, the charity has launched the Think Pig campaign to help consumers make an educated choice when buying sausages, bacon, ham and pork.

The survey found that 88 percent of grocery shoppers questioned had bought pork products in the last six months, so what they choose can make a real difference to pigs' welfare.

Think Pig aims to harness consumers' concerns about the way animals are treated and help them use their spending power by following the Think Pig checklist while out shopping.

The checklist asks people to only buy higher welfare pork products that display the Freedom Food logo - which means they have come from farms inspected to RSPCA welfare standards - or those labelled outdoor bred, outdoor reared, free range or organic.

These labels conform to the new voluntary labelling code for pork products developed by the RSPCA and BPEX* to which the majority of supermarkets have signed up.

"Consumers have the power to really improve pigs' lives," said Kate Parkes, a scientific officer from the RSPCA's Farm Animals Department. "The more people choose higher welfare labelled pork, the more pigs will be reared to better welfare standards."

Many pigs are kept in overcrowded barren environments with no bedding or material for rooting and only slatted floors to lie down on.

The survey showed many shoppers are confused about labelling. When shown packaging of various pork products, for each product between 35 and 45 per cent of shoppers who had bought sausages, bacon, ham or pork in the last six months answered that they didn't know how the pig was treated.

The RSPCA hopes that consumers will make the ethical choice and support higher welfare farming in the same way as they have with eggs and chicken. The number of eggs from caged birds sold has dropped by 11 per cent since 2004.

According to Leigh Grant, Freedom Food's chief executive, the upsurge in consumer demand and spending on Freedom Food pork products is having a very direct impact on improving pig welfare.

"We have seen the number of pigs reared to RSPCA welfare standards dramatically increase by 26 per cent - from less than 1.6 million animals two years ago, to more than 1.9 million today as a direct result of consumer demand," he said.

"That's 400,000 more pigs having a better life under Freedom Food."

Concerned consumers are being asked to visit the RSPCA web pages (www.rspca.org.uk) for more information about the Think Pig checklist, further shopping advice and pig welfare information, sign up to its Facebook page (www.facebook.com). A Think Pig news video will also be posted on You Tube.

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Notes for editors:

For more information, or to arrange interviews please contact the RSPCA press office on 0300 123 0244/0288.

BPEX represents pig levy payers in England.

*The survey was carried out by YouGov plc. Total sample size was 2184. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2 to 5 July 2010. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

The You Gov research also revealed:

Fewer students and younger shoppers aged 18-24 who had bought pork in the last six months were don't knows, for example only 19 per cent of 18-24 year olds and 22 per cent of students said they didn't know how a pig was treated from the label on a packet of British mild cured honey roast ham.

Retired shoppers who bought pork products in the last six months were most confused, with 53 per cent saying that they didn't know how well the pig was treated from the label on a packet of wafer thin cooked ham. However this group was very concerned about welfare, with 90 per cent of all retired people thinking it was very or fairly important that pigs reared for meat were treated well.

All the major supermarkets, (Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Marks and Spencer, the Co-op and Waitrose) have signed up to the voluntary labelling scheme. For more information on the codes and labelling definitions see www.porkprovenance.com.

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RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 9RS
Press office direct lines: 0300 123 0244/0288 Fax: 0303 123 0099
Duty press officer (evenings and weekends) Tel 08448 222888 and ask for pager number 828825
Email: press@rspca.org.uk Website: www.rspca.org.uk

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