"Yesterday I made a joint declaration on animal welfare in the EU, together with Germany and the Netherlands, and this conference should be the next step towards better animal welfare.

"We have in recent years seen that we can go far at the negotiating table if we want to," said Mr Jørgensen.

Last year, he signed a historic pig action plan with the industry and animal welfare organisations and he hopes that he can use this experience to make progress on animal welfare at the international level.

He said: "I have great expectations that the recognised international experts who gathered for the conference will come up with good and useful suggestions on how internationally we can create the necessary welfare improvements."

The conference 'Improving pig welfare - what are the ways forward?' takes place on 29 and 30 April 2015.

The conference is one of the many measures adopted in pigs 'Action Plan' that will contribute to improving the welfare of pigs.

The conference has a number of internationally renowned scientists and experts on the list of speakers, among others, Professor David Fraser and Professor Sandra Edwards.

There will also be workshops, which will focus on the essential elements of the Action Plan and a final panel discussion on pig welfare's biggest challenges and opportunities for improvement.

The conference is organised in cooperation with the Food Authority's Knowledge Centre for Animal Welfare.

Further Reading

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