Correspondence regarding pig farming and welfare: EIR release

Information requested

• The most recent agricultural census shows that there were 31,146 breeding sows and gilts in Scotland. Of those, how many were kept in farrowing crates (including temporary crates) prior to/following farrowing?
• How many pig farms with between 10-24 breeding sows use farrowing crates (including temporary crates)?
• How many pig farms with between 25-99 breeding sows use farrowing crates (including temporary crates)?
• How many pig farms with 100 or more breeding sows use farrowing crates (including temporary crates)?
• For each of these questions, please also break down the answer by local authority area. If you do not hold that information please supply the answers for any subdivisions in which you do hold the information.

All correspondence, and all recorded information relating to meetings or discussions within the Scottish Government or between the Scottish Government and external stakeholders, companies, organisations or individuals, relating to the use of farrowing crates for the last five years.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Response to your request

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested in Annex A.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold some of the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR 202400431590 - Information Released - Annex A

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