WSPA Farm Animal Welfare Programme
|
Pigs Each year 1.3 billion pigs are reared for meat worldwide. The majority are farmed intensively in systems where they are caged, mutilated and unable to express their natural behaviours. Breeding sows and fattening pigs There are two different groups of pigs on intensive farms: breeding sows whose role is to produce as many piglets as possible, and fattening pigs which are reared to be slaughtered for meat. Sow stalls In many countries, pregnant pigs are caged for nearly all of their adult lives in rows of individual sow stalls (also known as gestation crates). These are so narrow that the sow is unable to take more than one step or turn around throughout her four-month pregnancy. On some farms, sows are tethered to the ground or stalls using a heavy chain. Since January 2006, the tethering of sows has been prohibited in the EU. From 2013, the prolonged use of sow stalls will be banned in the European Union, where one fifth of the world's pigs are kept. However, regrettably the use of stalls will still be permitted for the first four weeks of pregnancy. Stalls have already banned on cruelty grounds in the UK, Sweden and the Philippines. They will also be illegal in Florida from 2008. If the breeding sows grew as quickly as their offspring, many would die before adulthood and the survivors would have poor fertility. In order to slow down the breeders’ growth rate, the industry feeds them on such severely restricted rations that they are hungry for much of their lives. Farrowing crates About five days before she is due to farrow (give birth), the sow is moved to the equally restricting farrowing crate, where she cannot move other than to stand up and lie down. Her strong instinct to build a nest for her piglets is completely denied. Once her piglets are born, she is unable to mother them properly. Farmers maintain that the crate is needed to prevent the sow from crushing her piglets by lying on them. In a natural environment, however, sows do not crush their piglets; this is because the nest is lined with vegetation and also because before lying down, the sow roots through the nest moving piglets in danger of being squashed out of the way. Moreover, modern farmed sows have been bred to be much larger than wild pigs. They are clumsier and more prone to lying on their young than the lighter, more agile wild sow. Early weaning The sow is kept in the crate until the piglets are weaned at 3-4 weeks of age (compared with 13-19 weeks naturally). This premature removal from their mother leads to severe stress due to loss of the nurturing and protection that she provided, and withdrawal of their mother's milk causes increased susceptibility to stomach infections. Just a few days later, the sow is re-impregnated artificially and returned to the sow stall. This maximises the number of piglets she produces each year to over 20 (compared with 6-8 naturally), which places a huge strain on her. Barren fattening pens Selectively bred for rapid weight gain, the piglets are fattened for meat for 4 to 6 months. They are kept in conditions of severe deprivation - in small, overcrowded, often dirty pens. They live on bare concrete or slatted floors with no straw or other bedding material. Combined with overcrowding, the lack of straw prevents them from carrying out natural behaviours such as rooting, foraging and exploring. In natural conditions, pigs are highly active spending 75 per cent of their day rooting, foraging and exploring. Such activities are impossible for industrially farmed pigs. Rather like puppies, they are immensely lively and curious – yet on industrial farms there is no outlet for all this energy. Mutilations Bored and frustrated, the pigs fight and bite the only other ‘thing’ in their pens: the tails of other pigs. Mutilations such as tooth-clipping and tail-docking are routinely practised to reduce these behaviours. Males are often castrated. These procedures are usually carried out without anaesthetic, often leading to prolonged pain. Research shows that the best way to prevent tail-biting is to not to clip teeth or dock tails, but to keep the pigs in good conditions. Aggressive behaviour often occurs as a result of overcrowding in barren pens and mixing unfamiliar pigs, which are basic management mistakes. Tail-docking is a clear example of how industrial farmers, rather than addressing the root causes of the problem, opt for a ‘solution’ that imposes more pain and suffering on the animal. Disease Dust, dirt and toxic gases from the pigs' waste create an unsanitary environment that encourages the onset of a number of diseases and illnesses. See Intensive Farming and Human Health >>. To find out about another animal, click on the links in the Read More section of this page >> |
Read More
|
