Around five-hundred pig farmers protest in Prague

According to organisers’ estimates, around 500 pig farmers turned out on Tuesday to protest in front of the Ministry of Agriculture about what they call insufficient subsidies for pig breeders. Czech pig farmers recently asked the Ministry of Agriculture for over 1 billion CZK (50 million USD) in financial aid, which they said they required due to poor wholesale prices for pork coupled with rising costs. The Ministry of Agriculture turned this request down and on Tuesday, agriculture minister Petr Gandalovic was jeered and heckled as he addressed protesters. The pig farmers present handed Mr Gandalovic a pig’s head before moving on to Wenceslas Square, where they handed out pork sausages and information leaflets to passers-by.