Pork industry says it wasn't properly consulted over Tasmanian sow stall ban

Tasmania will be the first Australian state to ban sow stalls, in a move that's angered the pork industry.

The Primary Industry Minister Bryan Green has accepted a recommendation from the Tasmanian Animal Welfare Advisory Committee to ban dry sow stalls in piggeries by 2017.

The stalls are used to confine pregnant pigs so they can't turn around or attack each other.

Animal welfare groups say they're unacceptably cruel, but some large commercial producers say they're the easiest way to stop pigs injuring each other.

In addition to the 2017 ban, from 2014, sows may be kept in sow stalls for no more than six weeks during pregnancy.

In a statement, Mr Green says that timeline will give Tasmanian farmers enough time to adjust their operations.

"Managing sows [without stalls] will require more space, new equipment and different animal husbandry practices," he says.

"I would not impose this on pig producers if I did not think it was necessary, both from an animal welfare perspective and for the future of our pork industry in Tasmania."

The ban goes beyond the national standards agreed by industry and Federal Government representatives in 2007.

Those called only for restricting the time sows could be kept in stalls, rather than banning them altogether.

The Tasmanian Animal Welfare Advisory Committee made no recommendations on the state's use of farrowing stalls, which prevent sows from smothering newborn piglets.

Australian Pork Limited CEO Andrew Spencer is unhappy with the Tasmanian Government, saying it did not consult properly with industry before making this decision.

"It was not a consultative process. It was a very secretive process. We had a lot of difficulty getting anywhere near it and we ultimately failed in that. The minister basically refused to meet with us," he says.

"It's maybe a small issue if you consider that Tasmania is a very tiny part of the Australian pig industry but it's a very big issue if you consider that Tasmania's a part of a national process for the regulation of animal welfare.

"This statement is basically them turning their back on this process and betraying it.

"That's a process called the model code process; Tasmania and all the other states and the Federal Government have signed up."

Mr Spencer says it is a comprehensive process that includes regulatory impact statements requiring lots of consultation with industry and welfare groups.

He says the Tasmanian ban will have implications for pork producers beyond Australia.