How we experienced slaughter
An unpleasant coldness and darkness of an early winter morning are awaiting us, when we leave the house. It´s January 28th in 2010 and we are on our way to document X15 and his last path – to the shambles. With a queasy feeling we get into the car and leave. Steamy fog lies over the streets. The pig-fattening, where X15 lives on a slatted floor without possibility to spend time outside, is quite a bit distant.
X15 is one of two pig-brothers, who we are keeping an eye on since their birth in June 2009. We documented their lives by taking pictures and video-taping. Two lives, which could not be more different from each other. X11, whose name by now is Jackpot, experienced for only the first 3 weeks of his life, what nowadays is usual for feeding pigs until they are almost grown up: slatted floor, no possibility to go outside, no straw, no digging, no mug-raking. After 3 weeks, Jackpot was brought to an animal shelter, where he is leading a happy life so far. There is everything, a pig needs by nature.
On the contrary, X15 lived through everything, which befalls a pig within the context of industrial production of pork. As it happened to him, it happens to more than 98% of 5,3 million of pigs, who are bred, fattened and killed every year in Austria. The last seven months X15 was spending in a hall with slatted floor. There his only activities are: eating, drinking and sleeping. And from this hall X15 today is chasen outside, packed onto a truck, driven to the slaughter house and killed there.
When we arrive at the pig fattening, we shortly say hello to the owner of the factory, the assisting veterinarian and the butcher, who in this case will be driving the truck by himself to the slaughterhouse. We get on hygienic wear. After all, we want to enter the hall but by doing that should not endanger any pigs by introducing any germs. The employees themselves get on no hygienic wear, when they come with us into the stable. Pigs would be immune against their germs, they explain to us.
Since four months X15 lives in the same cave, where he is fattened. He does not know what´s happening and so he doesnt run directly to the truck outside, but has to be chasen. He stops at other caves and through the grates he smells his fellow sufferer; they have, in contrast, to outstay X15. But there is no time for such curiosity. The employees chase the pig further on. They use a plate, which is about as wide as the corridor between the caves. They permanently tap on the lower back of X15 with their hands. He goes on. When he arrives outside, the bright sun and the fresh air irritate him; he is afraid of the loading platform of the truck – he jerks to a halt. First, there is no use of push and pressing – but with enough force X15 is taken onto the clinger.
The truck is locked and the drive to the slaughterhouse begins.
No doubt, these people use every pig in a way they think is advantageous for themselves. No matter whether the pig runs onto the truck by choice, or whether they have to assist him/her gently or forcibly: it seems, as if every pig or another creature has an intended purpose from birth on.
Half an hour later we arrive at the slaughterhouse. It´s a small enterprise on the country side. A room, where slaughter takes place, which is used only once or twice a week. Thus, X15 is prevented at least from the hecticness and noisiness of a big establishment. The butchers prepare the slaughtering room and afterwards they go to get X15.
But X15 has something different in mind. When they open the truck, X15 is dealing with a small heap of straw, which he found in the clinger. For the first time of his life he sees, smells and tastes straw. He doesnt want to leave it. Again and again he catches some of it; turns around another time and again, puts his mouth into the straw.
But also this time the butchers are stronger. A rope is knotted around the upper jaw of the pig. By the same permanent pressure against his sides and from behind as before, when entering the truck, he now is forced to leave.
The closer we get to the place, where periodically pigs have to die from human hand, the more X15 struggles. He resists to enter the room. We don´t know, whether it´s fear of the unknown or whether he suspects something already; we just can see his panic sight and the foam, which runs out of his mouth. He jerks to a halt, but two men are stronger than a pig, which is not even an adult yet. Almost still a child – totally alone against two grown-up men.
They do their utmost to push X15 in the middle of the slaughter room. His head is getting fixed. A man hunkers over him and attaches the captive-bolt pistol on his forehead. A last terrified sight, rapid breathing and struggling of his legs on the floor. But resistance is to no purpose. Loudly the bang echoes from the walls. The shot gives, that X15 literally is hurtling to the floor. His legs struggle. Immediately a chain is put around one leg and he is pulled in the air. Animals are killed headfirst, so blood is leaving the body more rapidly.
At half height X15 starts to flounder again. He slides off the chain, bangs down on the floor with his 120 kg weight. He lies on one side and madly starts to kick in the air. He tosses and turns. Blood smears over his face.
So, this is what they mean by „quick and easy“ killing of an animal? If such mistakes, which increase the suffering, would happen to only every thousandth pig, this for Austria would mean a number of 5.300 pigs, which every year would have to die in an agonizing manner.
A butcher fixes X15´s had again by stepping on the rope, which is fastened to his upper jaw, so that his head is pressed to the floor. The second butcher takes a sharp knife and stabs it into X15´s throat.
Gargling noise. Blood in the rhythm of the heart-beat is extruding out of his throat. A puddle of blood is slowly developing around his head. Accompanied by rattling breath, X15´s legs still keep on jerking madly. X15 is neither dazed, nor is he killed painlessly. The faces of the butchers express a mixture of shock, uncertainness and abashment. Because we are there video-taping? Or do such situations just remind them too strongly, that what they are dealing with is not a mobile mass of flesh, but a feeling creature? We don´t know.
After a long minute rattling breath and leg-jerking get weaker and slower. In the end they stop completely. Now X15 gets the chain around his leg again and his body is pulled up. The remaining blood is supposed to leave his body. While he is hanging and breathing out for the last time, he is cleaned with water spray. X15 dies.
A long and definitely painful death. A singular individual. Everybody, who has experienced pigs in an environment, where they are free to develop their personality, knows, that everyone of them is different. They have their own character, just like dogs, cats and human beings. A feeling creature with his/her own consciousness. Executed. For the crime of being a pig? A young pig. Seven months old and of 120 kg weight. In this system a pig is prevented from getting older than these few months, if humans want to eat it. Because every kilogram more than 120 kg needs more feed – which produces higher costs. Consumers are demanding cheap meat.
We can´t be really mad about the butchers – even not in this moment in the slaughtering room. We are rather confused, since the butchers in talks before and after were – in their way – nice. But nevertheless, they periodically switch off their compassion, blind out, that they deal with feeling creatures and kill some pigs. That´s how they have always done it. They perform the act of biggest violence as possible – the oppressive finalisation of a life. Something, which no human being can reverse.
But X15 is more than that pig, who had to die today. X15 is a symbol for all pigs, who in behalf of meat-eaters are bred, castrated without anaesthesia, transported and killed. X15 stands for the 5.3 million of pigs on Austria. X15 stands for the 50 million pigs in Germany. 250 million in the EU and 1.2 billion of pigs per year on this planet.
Altogether, our habit to eat meat worldwide kills more than 55 billion of animals. Every year! This is, what X15 stands for as well. You think, this sounds fatal and barbarous? There are a lot of ways to prevent other X15`s from such a life. By buying meat you create a request on the market for meat. Thus, more X15´s are killed. So what´s the solution? We leave the answer to this question to you and wish you a great deal of compassion and courage to act. Because this and even a lot more we owe to all the animals.
Michael Hartl
Head of the campaign “pig-vision”
Robert Kresse
Campaign-team pig-vision
