Health minister sends NAS to pig farms

(ANSA) - Rome, May 22 - Concerns of possible abuse of pigs and alleged unhygienic conditions on large farms in northern Italy's Po Valley region led Health minister Beatrice Lorenzin to send in health officers with the Carabinieri police on Friday.
    She said NAS officers were going to inspect large producers in the area after television investigative program Announo on Thursday alleged mistreatment of hogs at factory farms.
    A journalist from the program, broadcast on La7, went in with animal rights activists who allegedly found the animals living in unhygienic conditions. Lorenzin said Italian products are "are among the most" secure in the world, demonstrated by global demand for Italy's meat exports.
    "We would keep saying that our system is among the most secure in the world," she said Friday.
    "And we are being recognized," she added.
    Lorenzin pointed to a decision by the United States last week to re-open its borders to uncooked Italian meat products because of increased health inspections.
    "It's on breeding of pigs that we managed to unlock exports with the United States because we have here in Italy inspectors and a veterinary system that is not only Italian but also International," said Lorenzin.
    About 100,000 pig farms exist in Italy, about 24,000 of those factory farms and 13,200 focused on fattening livestock for market, said the minister.
    Total production of about 8.5 million pigs.
    These are monitored by agriculture and veterinary officials because pork is an important export for Italy as well as popular for internal consumption.
    But she acknowledged "flaws in the regional veterinary system," including not enough staff.
    Inspection and veterinary staff should also be rotating among regions rather than living too long in the same area, she added.