It is sad to read about the story of factory-farming mother pigs. Tens of millions upon millions of pigs live in spaces no larger than a refrigerator throughout their adult lives. Learn how you can help
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Machine cogs
A mother pig is born when she has been first conceived. This is the beginning of her adult life. Sometimes, this is done as early as eight months old.
She is not allowed to breed naturally and is placed in a small cage. She will be moving from one cage to the next for the rest her life. She is essentially a breeding machine at a factory farm.
In a sea of cages, alone
She is unable to turn so she is kept in a cage and surrounded by hundreds of sows in a huge shed. She is separated from the rest of her pig friends by bars so that she doesn’t seek security or comfort in groups. She cannot escape, she can’t flee.
The cages are no longer than 2m long and 1m wide. It is slightly larger than her body and smaller than a household refrigerator.
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In pain and discomfort
It is far from the natural grass she would prefer in nature. Pigs love cleanliness, but factory farming forces mother pigs to live in their own excrement every day. Due to the constant rubbing of steel bars, she is cramped and develops sore shoulders.
She is kept there every day on a concrete floor that is very hard. She bites at the bars of her steel cage, frustrated.
These cages keep mother pigs in a confined environment for their entire lives. They are unable to interact with other pigs or forage, and they also have no natural pig behavior. They are either kept in sow stalls or alone in their cages. They can experience depression, lameness, extreme stress, self-inflicted injuries, and lameness.
This is not a life for a porcine.
Giving birth in a cage
After enduring this difficult pregnancy in prison, she is finally moved to another cage to prepare for her birth. She is naturally tempted to create a nest but is unable.
She was moved to a “birthing” cage where she is now surrounded by concrete and bars.
At the exact moment she needs to relax, she is extremely stressed. This causes more pain and suffering during the birth. The steel bars may prevent her from getting to her piglets when they arrive. She cannot form a normal mother-piglet relationship.
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Too soon, babies are taken!
Three weeks after her babies turn three, she is forced to wean them and takes them away. The painful cycle continues again as she is placed in another cage and made pregnant again.
She will have multiple pregnancies through her miserable life. This is until her body begins to fail and she is no longer able to work in the factory farming industry.
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This horror must be stopped!
This is the daily life of one mother pig. There are many pigs in one shed, thousands on a farm, and tens of millions worldwide.
This suffering can be avoided. It is better for both animals and businesses to keep mother pigs together, instead of in small cages. Factory farming is not an excuse.
Reduce your consumption of pork and choose higher-welfare pork if you must. This will help to end the suffering of pigs. Pigs will suffer less if there is less demand for pork from factory-farmed animals.
You and your family can enjoy better quality pork if you have pigs that are happier and healthier.
To make real and lasting changes, we need your support to ensure that pigs live happy lives.
