News pig stock
'Pigs in Need compares wrong sources'
Varkens in Nood claimed in mid-January that more than 2,3 million more pigs are kept in the Netherlands than is known to the government. However, according to Minister Carola Schouten (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality), Varkens in Nood compares the wrong sources. "These databases each serve a different function and purpose."
That spacious 2 million pigs are not known to the government, according to the animal rights organization, is due to the failing registration systems. That is why it wants an Identification and Registration System (I&R) to be introduced in pig farming that is comparable to the system used in cattle farming. "The current system is very susceptible to fraud," the organization said at the time. Schouten, however, does not want to know anything about it. It concludes that the current system functions adequately.
Schouten also says that a comparable system in the pig sector entails an enormous increase in the administrative burden. "In my view, this increase in costs is not in proportion to the goal." The minister also states that no system for individual registration of pigs is used in countries such as Denmark and Germany.
'Wrong sources compared'
According to Schouten, Varkens in Nood compares the wrong data sources with each other in the report. "For example, the organization uses the average number of piglets that 1 sow produces each year. However, there are also animals (such as gilts from 50 kilos) that do not produce the average number of sows per year, but are registered as breeding sows in several sources Schouten writes. According to her, calculating with data from different sources does not always lead to a correct result.
Varkens in Nood also reports that there is a gap of 1 million pigs between the import and export figures of the Netherlands and Germany. However, Schouten writes that there are no indications that significantly more pigs are being exported from the Netherlands to Germany. According to her, this is again due to an incorrect comparison of data sources. "Varkens in Nood compares the figures of the Statistical Bundesamt with export figures of RVO-Marktordering. This results in a difference of 1 million pigs in the report, but that difference can be explained," writes Schouten.
"The German figures are estimates, based on figures supplied by the larger German companies. These figures were obtained in a similar way to the Agricultural Census of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). If we compare the figures of these 2 equivalents compare, then they are almost equal," explains Schouten. According to the minister, the figures from RVO Market Regulation are not a good source for comparison. "These figures will be published as soon as possible, so that any changes are not included."
Communication between systems
Schouten does admit that the communication between the I&R system and TRACKS does not always run smoothly. "When exporting pigs, pig farmers are obliged to register this in both the I&R system and TRACES. However, sometimes it is only put in 1 of the 2 systems. In 2018, this led to a difference of approximately 450.000 pigs. I therefore wants to investigate whether it is possible to link these systems."
According to Minister Schouten, this does not mean that these figures are not known to the government. "Even when it is in only 1 of the 2 systems, the export figures are communicated to the government."
Click here to read the entire Letter to Parliament.
Kimberly Baker
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