Italian pig producer Madeo announces new cage-free policy

By Caterina Pavese @ 2024-05-30T20:55 (+1)

Hello FAST community members! 

The Italian pig producer Filiera Madeo, known for its free-range black pig production, has recently released a new cage-free policy that also extends to its newly established white pig production. It is the second company to join our campaign, SOS Pig, advocating for minimum standards in pig farming. 

Madeo's new policy includes the elimination of sow stalls and farrowing crates, which are already not used. Sows are bred outdoors in groups throughout their entire pregnancy, including the initial one-month observation period that the current EU legislation would allow in cages. During farrowing, sows are kept indoors in individual free-farrowing pens with an area of 9m2 (above EFSA's recommendations of 7.8m2). Additionally, Madeo prohibits mutilations such as tail docking, teeth clipping, and grinding. Sows and pigs have permanent access to straw bedding and enrichment materials at every stage of their lives.

Conversations with Madeo began in September 2023, primarily focusing on its white pig production to develop a corporate policy highlighting its higher practices. Even though the impact in terms of number of animals is limited, the release of Madeo's new policy marks an important step forward, as it becomes the second cage-free policy announced by a renowned Italian pig producer in the last few months. We will leverage this new policy to continue promoting other cage-free commitments within the pig industry in our country.