05/11/2025
Breeding sows never feel the warmth and coziness of a nest or the affectionate nuzzle of a mate. Instead, they are surrounded by cold metal bars and lie on wet, faeces-coated floors. When they are old enough to give birth, they are artificially inseminated and imprisoned for their entire lives.
Up to a week before giving birth, mother pigs are moved to "farrowing crates," contraptions similar to gestation crates, with only a tiny additional concrete area on which the piglets can nurse. One worker describes the process: "They beat the s**t out of them [the mother pigs] to get them inside the crates because they don't want to go. This is their only chance to walk around, get a little exercise..."
Workers sometimes tie the mother's legs apart so that she cannot get a break from the suckling piglets. She may develop open "bedsores" on her body from the lack of movement. Do not be fooled in to thinking this is not happening in your own country because it is happening in every country around the world. This is the reality of farming today.
If you buy animal products this is your fault.
CttoπΈ