Pigs

Industrial Animal Agriculture &
Farmed Animals’ Welfare

The pigs raised for meat today are believed to have been domesticated from wild boar. Several species are farmed for meat, most of which originated from farms in the U.K.

Under natural conditions, pigs generally live in small groups, and are extremely active for a lot of the time. They spend much of their time foraging for a wide variety of foods using their keen sense of smell, and can roam over large areas whilst searching for food.

The intelligence of pigs is well-established, with decades of research and scientific observation clearly showing that pigs are intelligent, complex creatures. They can solve problems, use tools and even perform complex tasks such as playing video games.

Aside from their intelligence, pigs also appear to be highly sensitive animals. Pigs appear to empathise with other pigs, sensing their stress and other emotions. Pigs are nurturing and protective mothers, who in the wild will build nests for their young and even “sing” to them.

The natural lifespan of a pig is 15-20 years.

You can learn more about pigs here.

An interesting document on pig sentience by CIWF is available for download here.

Pigs are intelligent, curious animals. Pigs appear to enjoy their natural behaviour of rooting for bugs and roots in the soil.
Credit: Victoria de Martigny, We Animals Media.

Pig as a food source

According to Compassion in World Farming, around 1.4 billion pigs are slaughtered annually for meat worldwide. The majority of these are in East Asia, particularly China, which rears around half of the world’s pigs. This is followed by the EU, North America, Vietnam and Brazil.

The majority of pigs are reared for meat and a smaller number are kept for breeding. Whilst some pigs are kept free-range and in back yards / smallholder farms in many developing countries, at least half of the world’s pig meat is produced from intensive systems. This is especially true for China and the United States, and increasingly for other major pig-producing countries such as Vietnam.

Wallowing (or mud-bathing) is essential for a pig’s well-being. Wallowing appears to have several health benefits for pigs, such as clearing parasites from the skin and maintaining the correct body temperature. It is also a social behaviour, reinforcing social bonds, and pigs appear to simply enjoy the act of wallowing.
Credit: Jo-Anne McArthur, We Animals Media.

Selective breeding

Pigs farmed for their meat have been selectively bred to grow faster than nature intended. As a result, their skeletons are put under pressure, and leg deformities may result. Heart and lung problems are also common.

Housing for meat pigs

On a modern industrial farm, pigs spend their whole lives indoors. Life starts with being born onto a hard surface in a “farrowing crate” (see below). At just 3 or 4 weeks old, much earlier than their natural weaning age of around 17 weeks, piglets are taken from their mothers and moved to barren concrete pens or metal cages, with hard floors and no bedding. They will spend their whole lives in these cramped, unstimulating conditions.

Pigs on an industrial farm in Thailand. On this farm, pigs were grouped together by age in concrete indoor pens. The farm held over 10,000 pigs in six separate buildings.This farm would be described as a ‘Finishing System’, where weaned pigs are raised until they reach market weight. In many countries, that happens around six months of age.
Credit: Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Media for The Guardian.

Physical mutilation of meat pigs

Because piglets are removed from their mothers at a very young age, they still have the instinct to suckle and will desperately seek out something to suck and chew on to fulfil this need. Often they resort to chewing and biting the tails and ears of the piglets who are in the same pen or cage. To try to mitigate this, it is common practice to amputate the lower part of the piglets’ tails, and to clip some of the piglets’ side teeth down to the gum. These procedures are carried out when the piglets are very young, and usually without any form of anaesthesia or pain relief.

A piglet having the lower part of his or her tail removed, with no pain-relief.
Credit: Andrew Skowron / We Animals Media.

Housing for breeding pigs

Gestation crates (also known as sow stalls)

Most female pigs (sows) used for breeding spend their whole lives indoors, typically spending all of that time in extremely confined conditions that severely restrict their movement. Sows are made to have as many litters as possible in their lifetime. Sows will have an average of 2.5 litters every year for two or three years. As a result of selective breeding, a sow on a modern farm will typically give birth to up to 12 or 13 piglets in one litter, compared to a wild pig who gives birth to 4 or 5 piglets.

Sows are usually artificially inseminated to become pregnant while being kept in small barren stalls, called gestation crates, enclosed by metal bars on all sides.. These stalls have hard concrete, metal or plastic floors which are slatted to allow waste to be collected below.. The sows will spend their entire pregnancy in these stalls, often with so little space that they can barely move. The sows are not given bedding material, therefore they cannot act on their instinct of building a nest before they give birth.

Sows confined in gestation crates at a pig farm in Thailand.
Credit: Jo-Anne McArthur for We Animals Media / The Guardian.

Farrowing crates

A few days before giving birth, sows are moved to a slightly different type of stall, called a farrowing crate. These barren cages, with concrete floors and metal bars, are slightly larger than the gestation crates, allowing the sow to lie down to give birth, but they are still extremely restrictive, and do not even allow the sow to turn around. There is a small area known as the “creep” attached to the side of the cage, where the piglets are housed after they are born. The piglets can suckle from the sow, but most natural interactions between the sow and her young (such as her building a nest for them) are severely restricted. Well before the natural weaning age of 3-4 months, the piglets are taken from their mothers.

A sow confined to a small farrowing crate on a pig farm in Thailand. She is prevented from following her natural instincts and caring for her piglets properly, for example she is unable to build a nest for them.
Credit: Jo-Anne McArthur for We Animals Media / The Guardian.

Welfare concerns for pigs in intensive farming systems

All pigs on CAFOs, both the breeding pigs and those being raised exclusively for their meat, will undoubtedly experience extreme boredom and frustration due to their lack of stimulation and inability to engage in natural behaviours.

They suffer from a whole range of physical problems as described previously, which can cause intense suffering.

Scientific research shows that gestation crates cause physical and psychological suffering to sows, including lameness due to weaker bones and muscles, abrasion injuries, cardiovascular issues, digestive problems, and urinary tract complications. Furthermore, the fact that sows are made to have multiple litters in a short space of time puts strain on their bodies and causes various illnesses.

Separating sows from their piglets long before the natural weaning age is likely to be distressing for both the sow and the piglets.

Lifespan of pigs on a CAFO

Pigs raised for meat are commonly slaughtered at around 6 months old.

Sows used for breeding are typically slaughtered at around 5 - 6 years old, after they have produced 4 - 7 litters.

Industrial Animal Agriculture & Farmed Animals’ Welfare