Can our pigs remain viable?

[Chickpea]

I believe so yes. It has been discussed on downsizer.net, and there was also something in Smallholder magazine.

Here you go:
"The Regulations prohibit the feeding of meat, fish and most other products of animal origin to ruminants, pigs or poultry. They also make it an offence to allow them to have access to such material. They also prohibit any catering waste being fed, whether processed or not. This also includes catering waste from vegetarian restaurants and kitchens."

From the Defra website

It applies to domestic chickens since they are still classed as livestock even though you don't need to be a registered smallholding or farm to keep them. It applies to domestic kitchens, not just commercial kitchens. You may not legally feed cornflakes to chickens in this country. I wonder if you're even allowed to feed bread to the ducks in the park - dunno if they're livestock, wild animals, or pets.[/url]

[Andy Hamilton]

Right from someone who knows nothing other than what I have read or seen on Tv about pig rearing, so might be a stupid suggestion. How hard is it to make smoked meats or other speciality meats from your pigs? Is it worth the extra effort and possibly cash (I don't know) in order to make a higher profit from your animals? I am sure you have thought down this line already and it is not worth you while.

ANother thought (stupid again perhaps) is pig skin clothes. Does it have to be a certain breed to make pig skin jackets or bags or whatever? I had a pig skin jacket in the 80's and thought it looked quite dapper. It might be that the whole curing process is not cost effective though.

[Boots]

It used to be common practice for restaurants to run slop buckets and then pass the scraps on to local farmers and this was linked to lots of probs, as meat scraps inevitably made it into the slops bin.

The meat products are the problem - these are the restricted product, so if you access surplus or mis-shapen fruit from your local orchard your not breaching rules, surely? These are not catering premises. Our local pig farmer collects by the trailer load from the green grocer and baker in town... and he is registered organic. He cannot and does not collect any pies or savoury breads, but he can access white and wholemeal loaves.

Are you certain about the poultry? Processed poultry feeds contain meat meal doesn't it? (Is that different in the UK?) and the new method of maggot production used in fish and poultry feeds involves intentional meat contamination.

I remember the muck that used to be collected in restaurants I worked in when I was younger. It was often collected in old fat/dripping tins and really was a revolting collection of gunk that often sat fermenting for a week before collection. It definately needed restricting... it was gross.

I guess the line is drawn on what constitutes contaminated and what doesn't, but I don't figure bread and fruit and veg are, unless they are rotten, of course.


And as for stupid ideas.... there are none. That is an oxymoron.