Swedish Meats chair quits over pig scandal

01-12-2009 | Home | News

The chair of Swedish Meats, Lars Hultström has resigned due an animal rights scandal on one of his pig farms, Swedish news site The Local is reporting.

Hultström has resigned from Swedish Meats, an association representing more than 17,000 livestock farmers in Sweden, as well as his post at Sveriges Grisproducenter, an association representing Sweden’s pig farmers, and the Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF).
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“I realise that in the current climate I can not carry out my responsibilities. I will continue to fight so that Swedish farmers should have the right to manage their farms and look after their animals, but the pressure is just too much at the moment,” Hultström said in a press release.

“I am of course opposed to all neglect of animals – it is quite simply unacceptable. I can also understand the reactions to the film and pictures that have emerged, they have damaged the whole farming sector,” he continued.

Footage
The Animal Rights Alliance filmed footage depicting widespread neglect of the animals and the group has reported more than 90 pig farmers to the police for violating Swedish animal protection laws.

“He is right to go. We have documented one of his farms several times and it has shown a series of very severe failings that we have reported to the police,” Malin Gustafsson of The Animal Rights Alliance said.

Sweden’s agriculture minister Eskil Erlandsson has, together with the Swedish Board of Agriculture, invited the main pig farming organizations for talks over the scandal.

“I presume that the organisations can demonstrate and ensure that they follow the strict Swedish legislation. I also presume that the goodwill lost can be recovered, even if it will be a long uphill struggle,” Erlandsson said.