Smithfield Will Phase Out Restrictive Stalls for Pregnant Pigs

By Philip Walzer, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Jan. 25–Smithfield Foods, acceding to complaints from animal rights groups, announced today that it will replace the cramped “gestations stalls” that house pregnant pigs with “group housing” over the next decade.

“While this will be a significant financial commitment for our company over the next 10 years, we believe it’s the right thing to do,” said C. Larry Pope, the company’s chief executive officer.

With the action, the nation’s largest pork producer won enthusiastic praise from some of its harshest critics.

“It’s a fantastic step for farmed animal welfare,” said Bruce Friedrich, the vice president for campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, based in Norfolk. “

“It’s a very good sign that Smithfield is willing to listen to reason and make changes,” he said.

Friedrich said Smithfield is the first major pork company to make the switch. PETA has argued that the pigs can’t move or turn around in the stalls, leading to increased rates of disease and depression.

The Humane Society of the United States, in a press release, called the announcement “perhaps the most monumental advance for animal welfare in the history of modern American agribusiness.”

Reach Philip Walzer at (757) 222-3864 or phil.walzer@pilotonline.com

—–

Copyright (c) 2007, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NYSE:SFD,