ASIDE from shedding looser dung than usual, most of Denmark鈥檚 pigs have
painlessly made the transition to a diet without growth-promoting antibiotics,
says the Danish pig industry. But if the rest of Europe followed suit, the cost
would be crippling. The extra 拢1 or so per pig would be a blow to Europe鈥檚
beleaguered pig farmers, who are already losing as much as 拢10 for each
animal they sell into a world pork market that has collapsed.
Denmark鈥檚 pig farmers agreed to ban growth promoters altogether on 1 January
following steady reductions since 1995. The ban was designed to allay fears
after a Danish report argued that growth-promoting antibiotics might encourage
the development of antibiotic-resistant 鈥渟uperbugs鈥� that spread from farms to
hospitals.
Although there鈥檚 no firm proof that this is the case, the European Union last
year banned four major growth promoters because bacteria resistant to them might
also be resistant to closely related antibiotics prescribed by doctors. Four
promoters are still on sale, however, and are used throughout Europe except in
Denmark and also Sweden, which banned them in the early 1990s. Pig farmers
elsewhere are likely to see the report as a slick sales pitch by the Danes.
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In a report published this week, the Danish Bacon and Meat Council claims
that the transition was much smoother than they expected. Nor did the pigs
become sicker, as predicted by the ban鈥檚 opponents, a problem they said would
increase the use of antibiotics for treating infections in the animals.
Inspectors from the council monitored 62 Danish pig farms where antibiotics
had already been phased out. 鈥淣o corresponding increase in the therapeutic or
prophylactic use of antibiotics has occurred during or since the removal of
growth promoters from feed,鈥� says the report. 鈥淭he disaster people predicted
hasn鈥檛 materialised,鈥� adds Verner Wheelock, its author.
Of the 62 farms monitored, 38 reported few or no problems making the change.
Twenty-four had problems with diarrhoea, especially among younger 鈥渨eaner鈥� pigs.
But these problems were mostly temporary, and could be solved by changing the
animals鈥� diet to reduce ingredients such as peas, rapeseed, rye and coconut
cakes, and using coarser meal containing more barley and small quantities of
copper.
Infections were avoided by changes in husbandry. By rearing pigs in batches,
for example, sheds could be thoroughly cleaned before the next batch came
along.
But the cost of the changes is probably too high for many pig farmers. In
total, the transition cost Danish pig farmers up to 拢20 million, or
拢1 per pig. Nearly a third of that cost came about because the animals
grew slightly more slowly.
Although farmers sell pigs for around 拢60 each, many are already losing
拢10 per animal, and won鈥檛 take kindly to additional costs. British farmers
have been particularly badly hit, forced by strict domestic legislation to
invest in welfare measures not required elsewhere in Europe. 鈥淚t鈥檚 cost them a
lot of money, and pig farmers are losing money, so it鈥檚 not the time to ask them
to increase overheads or make capital investments,鈥� says Roger Cook of the
National Office of Animal Health, an organisation representing British
manufacturers of veterinary antibiotics.