United States-Pig Slaughter.

UNITED STATED-PIG SLAUGHTER.

In regard to animal welfare, the pork industry has taken several steps to improve production methods in recent years. Those efforts have a new sense of urgency with the passage of Proposition 2 in California last fall and damaging videos of animal abuse.

Tim Bierman of Larrabee is Iowa’s representative on the National Pork Board. He says the humane euthanasia of sick and dying pigs has moved to the front burner.

"We’re going to be spending a large amount of dollars on research on how to properly and humanely euthanize all sizes of pigs--from weanling pigs to large sows," Bierman says.

At their annual meeting Tuesday, Iowa Pork Producers Association delegates passed two resolutions related to animal welfare—one recommending that all pork producers become certified in the Pork Quality Assurance Plus program—and another supporting national and state efforts to improve unloading procedures and shorten the time required to unload pigs at processing plants.