11/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - Pig welfare. On Monday 11 May at the Agriculture Council, the Danish delegation mentioned the results from the conference, To improve the well-being of pigs - what way forward to the future, which took place in Copenhagen on 29-30 April. Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark signed a statement during this conference, calling for the 2008/120 directive to be revised so that minimum standards for protecting pigs are drawn up. During this Council, Spain, France, Portugal and Ireland underlined the need to focus on implementation of current rules before deciding on others. The Commission pointed out that caudectomy had been banned since 2003 and that castration without an anaesthetic had been discouraged since 2010. (Lionel Changeur)