Buy British pork - be kind to pigs

Many EU producers are flouting new laws on keeping pigs under the latest welfare standards, so shoppers are being warned to look for the Red Tractor and buy British

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Pig farmers will march down Whitehall today to campaign for fairer prices for their pigs
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The National Pig Association (NPA) is urging shoppers for pork to look for the Red Tractor sign, which signifies meat has been produced to UK welfare standards. Although the practice of keeping sows in metal stalls was outlawed by the EU on January 1, the association suggests that farmers in Europe will flout the rules and estimates that 40,000 illegally farmed pigs an hour will arrive at processing plants, leading to British supermarkets being flooded with meat from illegally farmed animals.

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Stalls have not been used in the UK for years, but recent figures show that 80% of EU countries are ignoring the new law: France is only 33% compliant, Germany stands at 48% and Ireland at 57%. The NPA has prompted the EU to call a crisis meeting on January 28.

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Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.

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