A sow repetitively chews on the metal bars from inside a gestation crate at an industrial pig farm in Quebec, Canada. She and those beside her live confined inside bare, concrete-floored enclosures. The crates are large enough only for the sows to sit, stand, and lie down, but they cannot walk or turn around. Description: In many countries, gestation crates are the cages that impregnated adult female pigs, also referred to as sows, are kept in for all but the last five to ten days of their pregnancies. For the nearly four months of their gestation, they live inside a cage that is just larger than the size of their bodies, roughly two by seven feet. They can lie down, sit, and stand but cannot turn around, walk, avoid the aggression from sows in neighbouring stalls, or respond to changes in the environmental temperature. Millions of pigs live in these extremely constricted spaces every day, despite many countries banning the practice on the grounds of animal welfare. Gestation crates are also known as sow stalls.
What it’s like for pigs in transport
On the day he is to be transported Pig 1013135 is rounded up with the other pigs that crowd his small dirty pen. He has not been fed that morning, because unbeknownst to him, it is transport day, and eating before this stressful event can be harmful and even deadly.
Instead, he is met with human handlers that noisily round him up along with the other pigs. In their terror and fear, the pigs start to bite and nip at one another as they are loaded onto the cramped trucks. For 1013135, his tail was removed when he was a piglet so the alphas can’t bite it, but he still bares scrapes and bitemarks elsewhere.
Fourteen hours into the ride, 1013135 is deteriorating. He is not able to remain sedentary as the noisy truck vibrates and bumps along. It is summer and even with ventilation in the truck, he feels the scorching temperatures as his skin is getting sunburnt through the cracks. Heatstroke is setting in and he’s struggling to breath.
Just as eating before transport can be harmful for pigs, so can lack of water and feed harm them during transport. It has been 14 hours already and there is still 14 hours potentially to go.
Pig Farming – harms people, animals and the planet
Consider This: Pigs are like dogs, only smarter
These intelligent, inquisitive animals have complex social bonds and unique personalities — all buried and ignored beneath the horrors of animal agribusiness. Read more
Interesting Facts About Swine
Here are some surprising facts about our swine friends.
Fun Facts You Probably Don’t Know About Pigs
Pigs are smart and social animals, but as Animal Outlook investigations have revealed, pigs used for meat endure horrific suffering on factory farms.
Animal Corner – Pigs
Many people who know pigs compare them to dogs because they are friendly, loyal and intelligent.
Pig farming in Canada – The Life of a farmed pig
The total number of pigs in Canada is estimated at 14.5 million animals. There are over 7,400 pig farms across Canada.
Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals – Pigs
In Canada, almost 22 million pigs were slaughtered in 2021. Canada also exported over 6.5 million pigs to other countries for slaughter.
A Lifetime of Confinement: The Secret Suffering of Mother Pigs
For most of their short lives, mother pigs in factory farms are subjected to egregious abuse. They are kept in cages—gestation crates during pregnancy and farrowing crates after giving birth—that are barely larger than their bodies. This cycle repeats until they are slaughtered.
How the Meat Industry Mutilates Piglets
You may have heard that pigs raised for meat live in extreme confinement and are slaughtered when they’re around six months old. But did you know that even the highest-welfare farms typically force piglets to endure a series of painful mutilations? These mutilations, which are usually performed without anesthesia or pain relief, aren’t required by law, but most farms do them to increase productivity and reduce costs.
Winnipeg Humane Society – Canada’s Pig Industry
Products with ‘local’ or ‘Canadian’ labels are not an indication of high welfare. Pork products sold at all major grocery outlets come from pigs raised in industrialized farms.
Pigs Facts
Pigs are one of the most intelligent of animals – as intelligent as a 3 year old child and certainly as intelligent as dogs.
Pigs favourite food is root vegetables, fruit and biscuits!
Pigs are clean animals, they don’t go to toilet near where they sleep
Pigs have few sweat glands and very little hair, so wallow in mud and play in water to keep cool.
Pigs can ‘sing’ to their babies to soothe them and give them comfort.
Pigs are incredibly playful and social animals. They love playing games like chase, and some even enjoy belly rubs and listening to music!
Pigs love physical affection and will often roll over for a good belly rub, just like dogs. It’s one of their favorite ways to relax!
Eight interesting things pigs do
The Someone Project: Pigs – Farm Sanctuary
Pigs Are Intelligent and Clean Animals
Pigs suffer a bad reputation — but science shows they are smart, caring and even clean.