Fewer pigs than ever before in Saxony's stables

From Ulrich Wolf

Kamenz/Dresden. The number of pigs in Saxony has fallen to its lowest level since 1992. This was announced by the State Statistical Office in Kamenz. According to the report, there were still around 457,000 pigs on 120 farms in Saxony at the end of 2023.

The Environmental organization BUND describes this as "good news for the climate and nature". Nevertheless, the chairman of BUND Saxony, Felix Ekardt, is calling for a further reduction. "The environmental impact of agriculture, such as greenhouse gas emissions, the massive use of pesticides and over-fertilization to the detriment of biodiversity, is primarily linked to meat, milk and cheese." He therefore calls for more research and money to be invested in organic farming. In addition, plant-based nutrition should continue to be strengthened. According to the Federal Environment Agency, livestock farming contributes significantly to climate change, with 5.2 percent of Germany's greenhouse gas emissions being directly attributable to livestock farming.

The State Statistical Office announced that the number of pigs in Saxony has fallen by 8.3 percent. In a five-year comparison, the number of pigs has even fallen by almost 32 percent. This means that there are still 51 pigs per 100 hectares of agricultural land in Saxony, compared to more than twice as many per hectare in Germany.

The number of cattle fell less sharply to 432,000, but this is still the lowest level since the State Statistical Office began counting cattle in 1992. Almost 40 percent of the cattle population are dairy cows.

Sheep, on the other hand, saw an upward trend despite the discussions about wolves. A good 66,000 animals were counted on 420 farms, an increase of six percent compared to 2022. Although this means that the level of five years ago has been reached again, a decade ago there were still twelve percent more sheep in the state

The agricultural policy spokesperson for the AfD parliamentary group, Jörg Dornau, described the decline in regional livestock farming as "fatal". His party has therefore "applied for an emergency aid program for pig farmers". He also called for the bureaucracy involved in building stables to be reduced. (with dpa and luz)