{"id":181924,"date":"2016-09-02T15:20:45","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T14:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/veganuary.com\/truth-factory-farmed-pigs\/"},"modified":"2023-06-27T15:56:28","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T14:56:28","slug":"truth-factory-farmed-pigs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/veganuary.com\/en-za\/truth-factory-farmed-pigs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Truth About Factory Farmed Pigs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pigs suffer on farms<\/strong> – even in the UK. Learn more about factory-farmed pigs here.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Pigs
Image Credit: AdobeStock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Meet Esther<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you think there is something fundamentally different about farmed animals than, say, a dog or a cat, then you probably haven\u2019t met Esther the Wonder Pig. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esther was bought as a pet micro pig but she turned out to be the same huge breed of pig that is reared for flesh on farms worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Esther
Image Credit: Esther the Wonder Pig<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Esther is a huge character, loves to sleep, eat, run in the fields and cuddle up with the dogs, cat and humans in her family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has been given the chance to show her intelligence, personality and zest for life, but all pigs have the same capabilities as her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are more intelligent than the dogs with whom we share our homes and can solve problems as well as chimpanzees.[1]<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pigs can also learn words and phrases, be house trained, and even play computer games. We just don\u2019t give them the chance to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are Pigs Farmed?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most pigs in the UK are reared on intensive farms. For those used for breeding, their life is a cycle of forced impregnation, followed by up to five weeks in a cage so small they cannot turn around during which time they will give birth. Very soon, their piglets are taken from them, and the cycle begins again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People think that crates are banned for pigs in the UK but they are not. The farrowing crate, where pigs give birth and are locked until their piglets are removed, is legal and widespread. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gestation crate, where pigs are locked for the duration of their 4-month pregnancy, is banned in the UK. However, meat from countries where this crate is still legal is sold in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Pigs
Image Credit: Animal Aid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In the wild, pigs would find a private place and build a nest in which to give birth. On farms<\/a>, all they have are the metal bars that prevent them from moving and a concrete floor that causes painful pressure sores. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In desperation, they go through the motions of nest-building inside their cage but it is, of course, utterly futile.[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When born, the piglets suckle from their mother but she is not able to reach them and nuzzle them. If they are sick, all she can do is watch them die. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She will be kept in this confinement for a further 28 days until the young are taken from her. She will be returned to a pen, and will soon be impregnated again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And again, and again, until she is exhausted and her body can no longer endure the strain. Then she will be sent to slaughter as a \u2018cull sow\u2019, and her body turned into low-quality products like pork pies and sausages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping pigs alive in the filth and squalor of factory farms requires a lot of veterinary medication. This shocking photo was taken by Animal Aid investigators at a Somerset pig farm.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Filth
Image Credit: Animal Aid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Piglets suffer too<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pigs have been bred to have as large a litter as possible, and many of their piglets are still-born or die at birth, or soon after. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They rarely receive veterinary care. Investigators have found their tiny bodies abandoned in the aisles of the units and dumped in bin bags.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Dead
Image Credit: Animal Aid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In nature, weaning is a gradual process, often taking three to four months. On farms, the early separation between mother and piglets causes distress to them both. It is quite common for them to call out to one another in the vain hope of being reunited.[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this stage, most piglets in the UK will have their tails docked[4]<\/a><\/sup> with heated pliers. If done during their first week of life, they do not have to be given an anaesthetic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Compassion in World Farming<\/a> found:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“An estimated 2.8 billion pigs have had their tails docked since the EU ban came into force in 2003, and according to a recent report <\/a>by AHDB Pork, 70% of pigs in the UK are still tail-docked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The industry is clearly flouting the law by continuing to perform these practices.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

They will also have their teeth clipped or ground down. The pig industry claims that such procedures are necessary to prevent piglets from injuring each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, pigs rarely harm one another when living wild. It is a problem related to their stressful living conditions where overcrowding and boredom are rife.<\/p>\n\n\n

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