Pigs
What you should know about pigs
Facts about pigs in agriculture
How is pigs bred? And does pigs have a good life? Read on for an insight into how the pigs live before they end up on the dining table.
As smart as a three-year-old
pigs are intelligent, social and valuable animals. They're smarter than dogs and three-year-old human children! They form social bonds with each other and raise their young together. pigs dream, build nests, are incredibly clean and can recognise their name. Yet 29 million pigs are "produced" in Denmark every year. Most are exported abroad, so competition to produce more animals in less space is fierce. This is detrimental to the well-being of pigs in industrial agriculture.
Pig welfare at rock bottom
A recent 2020 study by Danish animal scientists at the University of Copenhagen has shown that Danish pig welfare is at rock bottom. This was concluded based on comparisons of pig welfare between five major pig-producing countries in the EU: Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and Denmark. Together with Germany, Denmark is at the bottom. Despite this, industrial agriculture often wants to paint a picture that shows that pig production in Denmark is at the top.
The main animal welfare problems in Danish pig production include routine tail docking of piglets without stunning, killing piglets by flinging them to the ground by their hind legs, confinement of 98% of sows in small stalls for more than 2 months a year, increasing mortality among piglets (25,000 a day) and gastric ulcers.
Feeding and almost no space
After a piglet is born in conventional farming, it is weaned from its mother and placed with other piglets in groups, which are then passed on in the system. After they reach a certain size, they are housed in the slaughter pig house, where they are fattened up until they reach 90-115 kg and then sent for slaughter. In the slaughter pig house, only one-third of the floor is solid, while the rest is slatted flooring, which is uncomfortable for the pigs to walk on. The pigs are fed to make them grow as quickly as possible. They are therefore fed high-energy concentrates and almost no roughage. This food combination causes many pigs to suffer from stomach ulcers. After reaching a weight of around 110 kg, the pigs can look forward to 0.65m2 of space, which is the only legal requirement that applies after that size. The vast majority of Danish pigs never see the light of day beyond the day they are sent on transport abroad or to slaughter.
No place for piglets and their mothers
The pigs are slaughtered without stunning, although this has been banned under EU law since 2008. The pigs are castrated without anaesthetic, which is a very painful experience for them. One of the biggest welfare consequences of large pig herds is that a lot of piglets die. So many are born that many are too small, weak or underdeveloped. In 2018, 22.5% of piglets died in farms.
The piglets' mothers are restrained in a restraint pen where they cannot turn or face away from each other while she is giving birth and suckling. This still happens, despite several researchers proving that piglet mortality is not increased in systems where sows are free-range.
"We practically had to beat them yellow and blue to get them into the danger booths. They just don't want to go in when they've tried it before. They know they can't turn around or move in there. It's pure torture they go in for." - Former stable worker.
The Slaughter
After reaching a weight of 90-115 kg, the pigs are sent for slaughter. The transport there is incredibly stressful and frightening for them, as they are packed tightly in several layers and are not used to their surroundings. Before the pigs are handed over to the transporter, they are beaten with a tattoo hammer with sharp metal spikes to mark them so they can be distinguished. When the pigs arrive at the Danish slaughterhouses, they are stunned, as it is a law in Denmark. The preferred method is using CO2 gas, where the pigs are placed in an elevator system and lowered in groups into a chamber with a high CO2 concentration. Several scientific studies have shown that although this method is effective in stunning the pigs, it is far from a painless method. The pigs react very strongly and violently to the gas, as it disturbs their airways so much that it results in hyperventilation. In addition, they are also exposed to lower concentrations of CO2 in the chute as they are lowered into the chamber.
These videos from the UK, which uses the same method as Denmark, reveal that the pigs panic as soon as they perceive these lower concentrations of CO2.
Organic pigs
Only about 1% of Danish pig production is organic. In organic barns, pigs have better space conditions than pigs in conventional farming and are subject to stricter animal welfare rules. However, many of the welfare problems from conventional farming still apply in organic farming and there are generally many misconceptions. For example, it is not true that organic pigs graze. Only breeding sows and piglets are required to graze, while fattening pigs and piglets older than 7 weeks are fattened in indoor housing systems, with access only to a concrete-covered run. The 110 kg organic pigs require slightly more space than the conventional - 1.3 m2 indoors and 1 m2 outdoors.
Despite these minimal welfare improvements in organic pigs , they end up in the gas chamber with conventional pig on their way to slaughter.
pigs deserve a free life
pigs are living and sentient beings that deserve a free and good life. But there's no space for this in industrial farming, where the natural needs of pigs are not taken into account. In the wild, pigs are playful, social and curious animals that form strong bonds with each other. Here they can live up to 15 years. In the agriculture industry, they are sent to slaughter at 5-6 months of age.
Fortunately, there are many ways you can help put an end to pig suffering!
Eat plans instead of pigs! For Christmas, try recipes for plant-based meatballs or pork roast, and more!
If you're celebrating Christmas, ask the others you're with well in advance if you should try a plant-based recipe this time.
Sign up and get free and delicious plant-based recipes and much more at VeganerUdfordringen.dk