my view on
In factory farming, the sole task of the mother pig is to produce as many piglets as possible. The intelligent animal is artificially fertilized four times a year, after which it is declared ready with its task after a few years. Not much good awaits a male pig either. Mutilations and incarceration on grids are the order of the day. The miserable life on a small surface is followed by a torturous transport to the slaughterhouse. Yet some consider this to be the most natural thing in the world.
The normal and ideal situation
A pig is a social, intelligent, group living animal. It eats almost anything and searches for food by rooting its very sensitive snout in the ground. By rolling in the mud, a pig keeps its body at the right temperature and keeps parasites away. He can also do this by sanding against trees, for example. A pig is a house-trained animal, it separates manure place from lying and eating place. When a sow is pregnant, she builds a nest, separate from the group, to give birth. How different is it in factory farming!
Our pigs in the bio-industry
…. pork tenderloin, rib chop, shoulder chop, fillet chop, mixed minced meat, slavink, bratwurst, cooked sausage, ham on the bone, shoulder ham, ham, pork roulade, nasi-noodles, ham steak, pork satay, sausage, breakfast bacon, pork brisket, pâté, pork liver, ham steak, smoked sausage, frankfurters, pork schnitzel, cervelat sausage, grill sausage, farmer’s sausage, eel sausage, liver cheese, ground beef, corned beef, bacon, luncheon meat …
More consumer awareness
In the Netherlands, twelve million pigs (2017) are locked up for life in dark stables, crammed together without ever seeing the sun. This is the harsh reality. Animals are subordinate to economic interests. It is said that consumers do not want to pay a lot of money for meat, which is why meat is relatively low priced. However, research (EenVandaag among 24,000 people, 2009) has shown that people want to pay more for meat that is produced in an animal-friendly manner.
Animal welfare is still secondary
Compared to other countries, we are lagging behind in terms of organic meat, which, for example, has a larger share in supermarkets in Denmark and Germany than in our country. Meanwhile, politicians are hard to urge to take action. They seem to consider animal and human welfare less important than purchasing power and economic profits. Passing the responsibility on to the consumer is too easy, after all, the buyer often cannot choose between organic meat or ‘normal’ meat. Only the latter is in the shops in enormous quantities.
Female pigs
Until 2013, the mother pigs, called breeding sows, were literally stuck in very tight, concrete, individual farrowing crates between steel bars and could only take a step forward or back in this. This is to prevent piglets from lying dead. However, the animal could not turn around. The result was a lack of freedom of movement and social contacts. The piglets were also taken away from her too early. However, according to European legislation, group housing for pregnant sows has become mandatory from 1 January 2013. The floor may consist for the most part of grid and a soft lounger of straw or other bedding on the closed floor part is not mandatory. In two and a half years, a sow is artificially fertilized four times. She gives birth to an average of twelve piglets each time. After this breeding period she is worn out and slaughter follows.
Male pigs
Until 2010, the male pigs were castrated in a medieval way a few days after birth, while still in shock from their mother’s departure. This was done without anesthesia, to save a cent per kilo of pork. Castration of piglets has always been controversial. Scientists have discovered which genes are responsible for the ‘boar taint’ for which pigs are neutered. This odor is the result of the sex hormones in the animal that could develop around the slaughter age of six months. On the basis of the new knowledge, it is better possible to give the necessary guarantees that the meat will not stink, even if the animals have not been castrated.
However, tails are still burned without anesthesia. These painful mutilations occur in the vast majority of Dutch piglets. The young piglets want to suckle and because their mother is gone, they start sucking each other’s tails, hence the idea of removing. They are in a group loft on a grid which causes a lot of pain to their legs. One in ten youngsters does not make it to four weeks. The animals often get diarrhea, followed by antibiotics. The rest is transported to the fattening company to be fattened. This is often abroad, eg Italy, where the ham can be sold as Parma ham. These transports are hell on earth due to exhaustion and injuries. Many pigs arrive dead.
The animal-unworthy fertilizer company
In the fattening farm, the powerless pigs and about ten to twenty fellow sufferers stand together in bare, low-stimulus pens. Per pig between 0.3 and 1 m2 is available, which is a very high stocking rate. Lying down is therefore not always possible. The floor consists largely of a grid. There is no straw or soft bedding on the closed part. Nothing. The pig cannot chew and cannot root. A pig is social and house trained, but has no space to rest from his toilet. to separate. The risk of infections is high. The frustration and boredom in the helpless pigs lead to aggression and biting. During this final fattening period, a significant proportion of the pigs die. After six months of suffering, the slaughter weight of 80 to 110 kilos has been reached. The pig is awaiting a long and miserable transport, during which it panics because of the unfamiliarity with daylight, etc., after which it is slaughtered.
“Pigs are not that dirty. And they’re smart, strange little creatures. They just need love.” ~ Shelley Duvall