The pig industry is set to defend its welfare standards during day two of a VIC parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday.
Groups such as the Victorian Farmers' Federation (VFF), Australian Pork Ltd, the Australian Meat Industry Council, JBS and VIC pig farmers will partake in a hearing before the Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee.
Their participation follows presentations from animal welfare groups on pig welfare standards on Tuesday.
The farm bodies are set to refute calls for the Victorian pig industry to be shut down and accusations that there is no way of farming pigs ethically.
All groups made submissions to the committee, chaired by Georgie Purcell MP, a member of the Animal Justice Party, ahead of their appearance on Wednesday.
In its submission, the VFF highlighted that pork is the second most consumed meat in Australia.
The federation said demand for pork by Australian consumers has remained relatively constant in recent years with a per capita consumption rate of 27 kilograms a year.
VFF pig group president David Wright said about 1.2 million pigs were processed in Victoria in 202021, producing 96,000 tonnes of pork.
Victoria's pork production accounts for 22 per cent of Australia's total pork production (432,000 tonnes), making Victoria the third largest pork-producing state.
Mr Wright and VFF president Emma Germano used their analysis to defend the importance of the industry to the Victorian economy.
Ms Germano said the highly regulated system pig farmers operate under required that high standards were maintained across farming systems, both indoor and outdoor.
"These systems are underpinned by the farmers' commitment to enhancing pig welfare and is further demonstrated by ongoing financial investment in the pig industry, where over the last decade, more than $23 million has been allocated to animal welfare-related projects," she said.
Ms Germano suggested that the inquiry conducted by the parliamentary committee would "embolden animal activists who engage in brazen and illegal behaviour".
"This is of particular concern to farmers as we are directly in the line of these activities which pose significant risks to the health and welfare of our animals, and the safety and wellbeing of our families and staff," she said.
The Australian Meat Industry Council made three recommendations to the committee in its submission.
The council said the carbon dioxide stunning of pigs remains best practice and is better for pig welfare than other slaughter methods, despite animal welfare group claims otherwise.
It also said the stunning remained within current regulatory requirements.
The group said the contribution of the pig industry to Victoria's economy was too great to lose and this should be considered in the inquiry.
However, the council said there needed to be fit for purpose and outcomes-based minimum animal welfare standards for all livestock processing.
Parliamentary members of the Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee will respond to the pig industry representative comments on Wednesday.
