Pig Farm Tour
August 2010
This Saturday we visited an intensive pig farm in South Auckland. In the first shed we entered we found rats and farrowing crates full of sows who were about to give birth or who had already given birth. As we showed people the crates we discovered several piglet legs in the walk way and a cannibalised piglet head and leg in a farrowing crate.
We then moved into a shed containing sow stalls. In these stalls the sows were unable to lie down comfortably and some were displaying signs of stereotypical behaviours such as repeatedly chewing the bars.They were all in various stages of distress and a few of them were chewing on the bars. Others appeared to be experiencing depression. While exiting the shed we saw a dead sow laying half in the isle and half outside. There was blood coming from her mouth.
Finally we at the fattening pens which contain the piglets who will become meat. Here several piglets lived together in cold, filthy pens.
One of our members who came on this tour had the following to say of her experience:
My thoughts on the tour today... well what can I say? I'm naturally horrified this sort of treatment of animals has been allowed to continue for so long. I see this as an atrocious disregard for any living being. I'm ashamed that my own species thought this one up, but am heartened to have met many people that want an end to it. Let's not think about the possible alternatives because I have come to believe that no farming practice is "right". All I can say after seeing these poor creatures today is that this particular method of farming by degree is unjustifiably cruel, barbaric, manipulative and torturous.
For more images from our tour click here.
This Saturday we visited an intensive pig farm in South Auckland. In the first shed we entered we found rats and farrowing crates full of sows who were about to give birth or who had already given birth. As we showed people the crates we discovered several piglet legs in the walk way and a cannibalised piglet head and leg in a farrowing crate.
We then moved into a shed containing sow stalls. In these stalls the sows were unable to lie down comfortably and some were displaying signs of stereotypical behaviours such as repeatedly chewing the bars.They were all in various stages of distress and a few of them were chewing on the bars. Others appeared to be experiencing depression. While exiting the shed we saw a dead sow laying half in the isle and half outside. There was blood coming from her mouth.
Finally we at the fattening pens which contain the piglets who will become meat. Here several piglets lived together in cold, filthy pens.
One of our members who came on this tour had the following to say of her experience:
My thoughts on the tour today... well what can I say? I'm naturally horrified this sort of treatment of animals has been allowed to continue for so long. I see this as an atrocious disregard for any living being. I'm ashamed that my own species thought this one up, but am heartened to have met many people that want an end to it. Let's not think about the possible alternatives because I have come to believe that no farming practice is "right". All I can say after seeing these poor creatures today is that this particular method of farming by degree is unjustifiably cruel, barbaric, manipulative and torturous.
For more images from our tour click here.
