So far I have been talking about the breeding sows. I turn now to the pigs reared for their meat.
Scientific research shows that in natural conditions pigs spend 75% of their daylight hours in activity – rooting, foraging, exploring.
Scientific research shows that in natural conditions pigs spend 75% of their daylight hours in activity – rooting, foraging, exploring.
No such activities are possible for most of today’s pigs, the majority of which are ruthlessly factory farmed.
They are kept indoors throughout their lives in barren, overcrowded, often filthy pens. Usually they are given no straw;
They are kept indoors throughout their lives in barren, overcrowded, often filthy pens. Usually they are given no straw;
being kept instead on bare concrete or slatted floors. Often they are kept in old, damp, poorly ventilated, poorly insulated buildings – a perfect recipe for respiratory disease.
When animals are packed into overcrowded, often unhygienic sheds, it is hardly surprising that they are unhealthy and harbour disease. The crammed, barren conditions, together with the fact that the animals are unable to carry out most of their natural behaviour, means that they are highly stressed; this leads to their immune systems being compromised, so making them more vulnerable to disease. Moreover, once disease enters an overcrowded shed, it is likely to spread very rapidly.
When animals are packed into overcrowded, often unhygienic sheds, it is hardly surprising that they are unhealthy and harbour disease. The crammed, barren conditions, together with the fact that the animals are unable to carry out most of their natural behaviour, means that they are highly stressed; this leads to their immune systems being compromised, so making them more vulnerable to disease. Moreover, once disease enters an overcrowded shed, it is likely to spread very rapidly.