Netherlands phases out meat from castrated piglets

The Netherlands is phasing out the sale of meat from male pigs who have been castrated. Piglets are castrated without the benefit of anesthesia, causing undue suffering to the animals. No mention of actual time line of the phaseout but possibly within the next two years. We are uncertain if this applies to pigs exported out of the Netherlands, though it will apply to animals or meat imported into the Netherlands. The Dutch export nearly 9 million pigs or pig flesh annually.

Reducing suffering is, of course, a noble goal. The easiest way to truly make a dent in the suffering of the 50 billion farmed animals killed worldwide is to not eat them, drink their breast milk, eat their eggs or wear their skins/fur. Even reducing how much animal product you consume is a step in the right direction.