The Council of State annuls the castration of piglets by breeders

The Council of State has annulled the Royal Decree of April 19, 2023, which authorized the performance of surgical castration of male piglets up to seven days old by the person in charge on their own piglets. The decision is contained in Judgment No. 268.080 of October 19, 2026, rendered by the administrative litigation section, 12th Chamber. It is published in the official notices of the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge) No. 253 of November 5, 2026, page 59492, under reference C − 2026/008120.

An annulment pronounced by the administrative litigation section

The official notice bears the mention “Council of State. — Annulment (publication required by Article 39 of the rules of procedure)”. It specifies that the judgment was rendered on October 19, 2026, by the 12th Chamber of the administrative litigation section, the country’s supreme administrative jurisdiction.

The publication is not limited to a summary of the decision: the judgment itself orders that its text be published by extract, and according to the same modalities as the annulled decree.

What the Royal Decree of April 19, 2023 permitted

The normative act targeted by the annulment is precisely identified in the notice. It authorized:

• the performance of surgical castration of male piglets;
• on animals up to seven days old;
• by the operator of the farm themselves;
• and on their own piglets.

In other words, the royal decree opened up to the animal holder a practice which, within the regulated framework of pig farming, is normally a supervised technical act. By annulling this decree, the high administrative court removes the legal basis upon which this authorization rested.

A publication under the authority of the FPS Public Health

The notice is inserted in the “Official Notices” section of the Belgian Official Gazette, under the heading FPS Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment (in Dutch: FOD Volksgezondheid, Veiligheid van de Voedselketen en Leefmilieu). The announcement is published in both national languages, with the Dutch and French texts presented side-by-side.

Publication in the Belgian Official Gazette constitutes the step that makes the annulment enforceable and public, in accordance with the procedure organized before the Council of State.

What this changes for the pig industry

The Royal Decree of April 19, 2023 disappears from the legal order: the authorization it contained can no longer be invoked as a basis by pig farmers. For farms that practiced the surgical castration of male piglets under seven days old on this basis, the normative reference is lacking as of the publication of the annulment.

The sector concerned is directly identified by the subject of the decree itself: it involves pig farming, and more specifically the management of male piglet litters in the first days of life. The animal welfare dimension is at the heart of the case, as the decision concerns a surgical procedure performed on very young animals.

Industry operators are therefore invited to take note of the official reference C − 2026/008120 and the publication date, November 5, 2026, which marks the starting point of the publicity of judgment no. 268.080.

A scope that extends beyond the specific case

The decision illustrates the oversight that the Council of State exercises over royal decrees issued regarding animal health and food chain safety: a regulatory authorization can be withdrawn through administrative justice, independently of any new legislative intervention.

For readers in the agricultural sector and for animal welfare advocates, the key takeaway is simple: the exemption that allowed the breeder to castrate their own male piglets up to seven days old no longer exists, and this removal has now been published in the official state journal.

Source: Moniteur belge no. 253 of November 5, 2026, p. 59492, Council of State, judgment no. 268.080 of October 19, 2026, reference C − 2026/008120.