Factory farmed pigs - how do they move ?.

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Can anyone understand how this many pigs are all in such small crates? I mean presumably they don't spend their whole lives standing up, do they? But there are so many- more aisles on each side of what's in view here . I can't see how they can be moved out these cages because it would be mad, trying to move them out from such a massive warehouse to another place. Does anyone understand this scene please?

Just thought, perhaps this isn't in the UK. Goodness knows. I still don't understand how they seem to have such small crates in any case.

It is the UK, they don’t sit or lay, they are impregnated while standing. That’s literally what factory farming means. It’s a barbaric.

If you look up pig crates in the UK (and most of the EU) their use is limited. This picture is unlikely to be in either location. Most four legged animals are impregnated standing up!

Ok thanks. So you mean they're all there because they're going to be impregnated? That's a lot of pigs, surely?

Yes - this is what factory farming is, and it absolutely does happen in the UK - it's legal. You can also Google farrowing crates re impregnating/birthing.

Many animals are farmed in similar conditions (no space to turn around, never see the light of day, never experience grass. Chickens often don't even have use of their legs anymore - they've lived in too small a space and are too fat to walk). This is how the majority of meat in the UK is reared before slaughter. It's the definition of inhumane, and I'm personally vegetarian because I find all of it horrific.

Having said this, there definitely are ethical meat producers out there who do care for animal welfare, so it's not all doom and gloom. There are plenty of resources out there for you if you want to explore more. (FYI - Be aware that some of it really can be extreme or shocking if it's your first time looking into the subject.)

They can't move. It's barbaric.
Especially considering how intelligent and aware pigs are.

Female pigs can be kept practically immobile in crates for months on end, with no ability to move, to turn around, let alone to run or interact socially or engage in any instinctual behaviours. Bear in mind that their intelligence is comparable to that of dogs.

Thanks ..So just to be sure, they are about to be inseminated, is that right ? I mean they can't possibly spend their lives stood up, can they ?

Yes I had heard this. I imagine the farmers would say this is done so that they don't crush the piglets..I've watched Jeremy Clarkson in Diddly squat and I know this can happen. I don't know enough about it to tell if this is sufficient justification for the practice .

Thanks to everyone who has answered. I expect I'm being really thick..Is the consensus for whats happening in this picture that the pigs are in these crates because they're about to be inseminated?.

I’ve recently learned too that they are gassed to render them unconscious before slaughter.
Some don’t fully go unconscious!

Likewise chickens are gassed.
It’s totally barbaric. Horrific.
I no longer eat meat.
Speak to your butcher, Find out about his slaughter house and carcass buying protocols. You might be horrified,

This is their life. This is what humans do to sentient beings. Enjoy your dinners.

Not just to be inseminated - this is often how adult pigs spend their lives. They can lie down and stand but the crate is often so small they can't turn around.

This!

I am just as guilty. I ate meat up until 15 years ago because I simply didn't want to know the reality. It was easier to keep my head in the sand and ignore it. But once you truly open your eyes to the scale and cruelty of factory farming, there is no going back.

Now, I play the lottery because I dream of buying a small plot of land—a sanctuary where I can rescue a few animals before they are sent to the slaughterhouse. I just want to give them a chance to live out their remaining days in peace, tranquility, and natural light, far away from the life they came from.

Yes that’s what happens. Factory farming.

i have been vegetarian since childhood for these reasons.

My DF was a farmer, dairy with some beef cattle. This is absolutely nothing thing like how they lived their lives. The land is now farmed by an organic dairy farmer whose ethos is all about animal welfare, high environmental standards and supporting the local community.

Pigs are so smart, be careful where you buy pork from.

I thought the UK had some of the best pig standards in the world ?
The EU is supposed to but the actual body who does checks is weak apparently so many countries do have lower standards.

Pretty sure that image is not from the UK, or if it is, it is very old. Pigs in UK are not routinely docked anymore - those are.

Sow stalls and fattening crates (which is what that looks like to me) are both illegal in UK and have been for nearly 30 years. Pigs in UK have to be reared and kept in groups except for the immediate period around farrowing.

Farrowing crates (picture is definitely not these) require sows to be able to stand up and lie down to feed their piglets. The intent of them is to keep piglets safe as sows have a habit of lying on them. It was announced last December that they will be banned in UK.

Although insemination crates can be used in UK, that is not what the image shows.

Animal welfare standards in the UK are amongst the highest in the world. Inevitably they could be further improved.

I did a reverse search in the image and found similar/the same ones posted by PETA and the humane society but no reference included for where they came from. As others have said it won't be the UK (that type of cage being illegal and the docked tails being anachronistic). My guess would be the photo came from China,. possibly the US, as they do have very large scale pog farming in China along those lines (including in multi storey buildings).

I don't like eating pork because pigs are so intelligent and it's hard to keep them to a sufficient welfare standard as they would need a very enriched environment not to be bored/depressed. But misleading images like that "this is factory farming" are annoying because they don't actually show the truth of factory farming in the UK/EU. You could probably include a real image and it would be upsetting but not as "shocking" so they have gone for shock value over truth which undermines their whole message really. You might as well just generate AI images of crying piglets if you are going to do that.

They keep them like that long term in some places, (not just for insemination). However not in the UK. It is very cruel.

I also don’t think this is uk.
A few pigs farms round our way. Pigs reared outside with huts to sleep in (in the field, sort of like a big dog kennel) you see them lying outside in the sun or peeking out from the hut if it’s raining.
Also bed & breakfast pigs. Pigs are delivered to farmers barn then reared in there for a set period of time before slaughter. Nothing like the image above though. Pigs are in small groups, lots of big pens within the shed.

Thanks . That's a lovely idea. I hope it comes true 😊

Ok thanks, RamaLang. My eyesight isn't too good and these definitely don't look to me as if they can lie down but I think I've been wrong. Not that there's much space at all even if it is somehow enough for them to be able to lie down in it. It's a horrible life. So cruel

My friend posts PETA stuff like this all the time. She doesn't do the wide eyed innocent thing though.

Can I come and help you?