Question follow-through · 3739

Pigs: Animal Welfare

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of (a) the extent and (b) impact on pig welfare of pig thumping in the pig industry.

answeredDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Tabled
20 May 2026
Target answer date
1 Jun 2026
Answer
4 Jun 2026 · 15 calendar days after tabling

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Recorded timeline

  1. 20 May 2026

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of (a) the extent and (b) impact on pig welfare of pig thumping in the pig industry.

  2. 1 Jun 2026

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 4 Jun 2026

    Answer published

    Piglet thumping (a manual percussive blow to the head) it is not a permitted method for stunning or killing piglets due to serious concerns about the welfare consequences. The Department is engaging with the industry to encourage use of alternative humane...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

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4 Jun 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his plan for a Poultry Sector Growth Plan, what assessment he has made of the potential health risks of air pollution linked to ammonia emissions from poultry facilit

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11 Jun 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2026 to Question 3739, how many allegations of piglet thumping were investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in each of the last 3 yea

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

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