Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is considering further measures to strengthen the enforcement of the ban on illegal piglet thumping beyond The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015.

The Animal Welfare Committee published, in 2021, their advice on humane piglet culling and recommended the use of non-penetrative captive bolts as an alternative to manual blunt force trauma. The regulations on The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 were amended to permit the use of a non-penetrative captive bolt device as a killing method for neonate piglets within certain parameters. This has provided a method of killing on farm for these species that is practical and humane.

Defra officials continue to engage with the pig sector on this issue.