Australian Pork Limited (APL) -working for the industry

摘要

The year just gone could be counted as an historical landmark for the industry. At the APL Annual General Meeting the Australian industry resolved to take a strong position on the future use of gestation stalls in pork production.In a delegate vote the following resolutions were passed:"That Australian pork producers commit to pursuing the voluntary phasing out of the use of gestation stalls by 2017"; and"Australian pork producers recognise the welfare benefits of gestation stalls, the cost of change and the need for research, investment and off-sets to support the voluntary commitment to change."A decision around the industry committing to pursue a phase out of the use of gestation stalls was always going to be difficult, emotionally charged and controversial. The lengthy and intense six month 'Shaping Our Future' consultation was testament to that with many robust and healthy debates around this issue. Estimates on the cost of this shift in production method make it an expensive decision but one that in many minds was unavoidable.