Austria is largely switching livestock farming from slatted floors to lying stalls with outdoor access. From 2023 onwards, new pig stalls will only accommodate livestock with their own lying space. Existing stalls will have a transition period of ten years, somewhat comparable to similar plans in Germany.
This means that the Austrian pig farming sector is already actively beginning to withdraw from the traditionally used slatted floors. The new stall system with lying areas has already been successfully tested in animal welfare programs in Denmark.
Modern stall systems with more freedom of movement, separate lying areas, and mandatory air conditioning will become the legal standard from 2023 for renovations and new construction. This means significantly stricter standards than the EU average.
The Austrian center-left coalition reached an agreement last week on tightening the animal welfare law, modernizing livestock farming, and a subsidy scheme for stall conversion and renovation. Among Austrian pig farmers, who have much smaller stalls compared to other EU countries, there is still protest against the new criteria.
For renovations or new construction, farmers "need concrete prospects, transition times, and planning security," says Farmers' Union chairman Ernst Strasser. "These come with today's draft resolution."
The ban on routine tail docking of pigs will be enforced through a mandatory livestock declaration and accompanied by a risk analysis. The conversion to the two premium standards “AMA animal welfare label” and “organic” by 2030 is to be introduced two years earlier, concerning the sale of one million pigs per year.
Animal rights activists from Four Paws have criticized the new animal welfare criteria. While they also welcome the draft resolution as a step in the right direction, they are “extremely disappointed” that there is no ban on slatted floors in existing stalls for both pigs and cattle.