Pigs
What You Need to Know About Pigs
Facts About Pigs in Farming
How are pigs raised? And do pigs have a good life? Read on to get an inside look at how pigs live before they end up on your plate.
As Smart as a Three-Year-Old
Pigs are intelligent, social, and valuable beings. They’re actually smarter than dogs and three-year-old human children! They form social bonds, raise their young together, dream, build nests, are incredibly clean, and can recognize their own names. Yet 29 million pigs are “produced” annually in Denmark. Most are exported, fueling fierce competition to produce more animals in less space. This relentless industrial farming crushes pig welfare.
Pig Welfare at Rock Bottom
A recent 2020 studyby Danish animal ethics researchers at the University of Copenhagen found Danish pig welfare is at the very bottom. This conclusion was drawn from comparisons among five major EU pig-producing countries: Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and Denmark. Denmark tied with Germany for last place. Still, industrial farming often paints a false picture that Danish pig production is top-notch.
The worst animal welfare issues in Danish pig production include routine tail docking of piglets without anesthesia, killing piglets by swinging them by their hind legs against the floor, confining 98% of sows in tiny crates for over two months each year, rising piglet mortality (25,000 daily), and widespread stomach ulcers.
Fattening and Almost No Space
After birth, piglets are separated from their mothers on conventional farms and grouped with other piglets, moving through the system. Once they reach a certain size, they’re confined in fattening pens where they’re packed on partially slatted floors until they weigh 90-115 kg and are sent for slaughter. Only a third of the pen floor is solid; the rest is uncomfortable slats. Farmers feed pigs energy-dense feed with almost no roughage to grow them as fast as possible, causing many to suffer stomach ulcers. At around 110 kg, pigs get just 0.65m² of space, the minimum legal requirement at that weight. Most Danish pigs never see sunlight except the day they’re loaded for transport abroad or to slaughter.
No Place for Piglets and Their Mothers
Piglets have their tails docked without anesthesia, despite this being banned by EU law since 2008. Male piglets are castrated without anesthesia, causing intense pain. One of the biggest welfare consequences on large pig farms is the high death rate of piglets; so many are born too small, weak, or underdeveloped that 22.5% died in 2018.
Mother sows are confined in crates where they can’t turn or move during farrowing and nursing. This continues despite scientific evidence showing piglet mortality does not increase in loose housing systems.
““We basically had to beat them black and blue to get them into the farrowing crates. They simply won’t go in after experiencing it once. They know they can’t turn or move in there. It’s pure torture.”— former farmworker.
Slaughtering
Once pigs reach 90-115 kg, they’re sent to slaughter. The transport is extremely stressful and terrifying, as pigs are tightly packed in layers and unfamiliar surroundings. Before handing pigs over to the transporter, they’re stabbed with a tattoo hammer with sharp metal spikes for identification. Upon arrival at Danish slaughterhouses, pigs must be stunned by law. The preferred method uses CO2 gas, where pigs stand on an elevator and are lowered in groups into a chamber with high CO2 concentration. Scientific studies show that while effective at stunning, this method is far from painless. Pigs violently react to the gas, which irritates their airways causing hyperventilation. They’re also exposed to lower CO2 levels while descending.
In these videos from England, which uses the same method as Denmark, pigs panic even at the lower CO2 concentrations.
Organic Pigs
Only about 1% of Danish pig production is organic. Organic pigs have better space allowance and stricter welfare rules than conventional pigs. However, many welfare issues persist, and misconceptions abound. For example, organic pigs do not graze on grass except for breeding sows and piglets; slaughter pigs and piglets over seven weeks are raised indoors with access only to concrete runs. Organic pigs weighing 110 kg get slightly more space: 1.3m² indoors and 1m² outdoors.
Despite these minimal improvements, organic pigs still face the gas chamber alongside conventional pigs on the way to slaughter.
Pigs Deserve to Live Free
Pigs are sentient, living beings who deserve a free and good life. Industrial farming completely ignores their natural needs. In the wild, pigs are playful, social, curious animals that form strong bonds and live up to 15 years. In factory farms, they’re slaughtered at 5-6 months old.
Fortunately, there are many ways you can help end pig suffering!
Eat plants instead of pigs! For Christmas, try baking plant-based meatballs or plant-based roasts, and much more!
If you celebrate Christmas, ask everyone you’re with well in advance if you can try a plant-based recipe this year.
Sign up for free, delicious plant-based recipes and more at VeganerUdfordringen.dk