We were interested in what the particular person feels and thinks by slaughtering and how somebody can kill a living creature anyway.

pig-vision: What do you think, to what extend does an animal suffer while slaughtered? And how this suffering can be influenced in a positive or negative way?

The Animal isn´t suffering while slaughtered.

pig-vision: Can you understand people who disapprove the act of killing?

The purpose of farm animals is to be slaughtered and eaten.

pig-vision: Do you feel self-fulfillment and joy while killing an animal?

Slaughter is a job and no joy.

pig-vision: If you don´t enjoy it, why do you perform this kind of work?

It´s the economic sector of our enterprise.

pig-vision: How do you feel when killing an animal?

I don´t think about it, otherwise I would not have the guts to do it.

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Robert Kresse of pig-vision interviewed Marion Selig, veterinarian and deputy chairwoman of the association Menschen für Tierrechte (MfT) about pig breeding.

Robert Kresse: MfT is working on a class action lawsuit in Germany. What exactly is this and how could it help pigs in detail?

Marion Selig: In the constitutional state of Germany exists a serious tilt concerning law in terms of animal welfare: livestock owners, as there are e.g. pig farmers, can sue through all instances against requirements of animal welfare, which are assumed as to strong. So, they can defend themselves against the assumed violation of their rights via a juridical path; this can happen if, for example, the official veterinarian determines to offer more space to pigs. Animal rights activists on the other side have no opportunity to prosecute more animal welfare by court. Assuming, my opinion was, that conditions in pig breeding are absolutely agonizing and violate the law of animal welfare – which say, that animals have to be kept and supplied species-appropriate –; neither myself as a private individual nor as deputy chairwoman of my association could take legal action against this. The only possibility would be to report an offence to the prosecution. We can tell from experience that such complaints almost always are dismissed. Verbal hearings with external experts and so on practically never take place.

The class action lawsuit for animal rights would remove this situation. Because it would allow accredited organisations of animal welfare to take legal action – substitutional and quasi as a lawyer for animals – which formally have now legal position. The class action lawsuit for animal rights would not create a new law on animal welfare, but is absolutely necessary to enforce already existing rules and regulations effectively. With the class action lawsuit for animal welfare, organisations for animal welfare could juridically control the current housing of pigs. Even a lawsuit against the castration of male piglets without anaesthesia would be possible.

By the way: the only German state, which established the class action lawsuit for animal welfare so far was Bremen in October 2007. Class action is not a novelty: in conservation law, the law concerning handicapped people and the competition law the class action law suit is already accepted and proved of value.

Robert Kresse: What in general criticises MfT on pig breeding?

Marion Selig: Pigs are intelligent and social animals. Mothers build a nest before they give birth. They suckle their children for three months. Within the group there is a network of social relationships, which are especially close to related animals. Pigs like to look for seeds, fruits and grasses in the ground. They like to wallow themselves and are curiously exploring their environment. All these things they cannot do at all in the nowadays common way of pig breeding. Today piglets get cut off their ring tail and their eye teeth. Male piglets are castrated – currently this is permitted in the first days of theirs lives even without anaesthesia. „Rearing pigs“ („fatteners“) are kept on a slatted floor – that means tightness, stench and boredom each and every day. Female animals for breeding are reduced to machines of parturition, who can live together with the other pigs only for a part of their pregnancy. Shortly before, while they give birth and the weeks afterwards the mothers have to stay in small boxes – almost completely motionless.

Robert Kresse: What is the most crucial point for MfT criticising on pig breeding?

Marion Selig: In the end, conventional pig breeding altogether is absolutely tormenting and not acceptable. Mulitating of animals, the permanent keeping in the stable on a slatted floor, often without litter and the poundage of the mothers on small boxes are a total non species-appropriate; boredom, injuries and conduct disorders – which means considerable suffering – are preprogrammated.

Robert Kresse: How does the optimal type of housing for pigs look like according to MfT?

Marion Selig: As animal rights activists we in principal question the keeping (in imprisonment) of animals. Apart from the animal’s rights to life and physical integrity, it’s not necessary to keep them for food-production and to kill them. On the contrary, the consumption of animal products causes a lot of problems, concerning human health as well as the climate change. The bigger part of greenhouse gases results from breeding, killing and eating animals. Besides, the energy of plants is destroyed and also a lot of energy from elsewhere is wasted.

But as long as human beings will keep animals, we account it as necessary to arrange the conditions of the keeping of animal as acceptable as possible. As it concerns pigs, this would mean: a life in family connection, enough space, time to spend outside, litter in the stable, prohibition of small boxes, prohibition of castration without anaesthesia and of the amputation of tails and the cutting-off of eye teeth.

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Dr. Werner Hagmüller

We demonstrate the life of two pigs. Furthermore we give facts and therefore we have spoken another time with a scientist.

Dr. Werner Hagmüller works in the Institut für Biologische Landwirtschaft und Biodiversität der Nutztiere of LFZ Raumberg-Gumpenstein and deals with problems of animal health in biological factories. His special field is the “pig” and the main focus is on disease prevention while using alternative methods, on improvement of management in sow-holding, in advancement of stalls and in optimisation of feeding for breeding sows and farrows.

As a veterinarian he is interested since five years in the theme “castration” (theoretical and practical).

Therefore we have an expert who will answer our questions.

In your experience: what is the biggest problem concerning pig-holding?

First of all I want to mention that it is very difficult to make a professional evaluation concerning pig-holding in combination with animal protection. The castration and the cutting of tails from farrows without anaesthesia is one important fact. But first of all I want to speak about the holding of breeding sows. Before, during and after having litter in a farrowing crate sows are stressed very much. Sows that are not fixed show a multifarious behaviour, e.g. nest-building, change of position, contact to the farrows. But fixed sows will be bad influenced while birthing. The loss of farrows is lower if sows are fixed. But it is more natural for sows, if they are not fixed. And if they are well-conditioned (not so fat), the loss of farrows won´t be so high because of the maternal instincts.

What about the using of farrowing crates for sows?

In addition to the last point I have to add the following: If the management is well-done, the loss of farrows where sows are fixed is the same as the loss of farrows where sows are not fixed. Experiences in Switzerland can show that in a high amount of experiments (e.g. WEBER, R. et al. 2006). Only the reason for the loss of farrows is not the same. The loss of farrows is higher if sows are not fixed, but the loss of farrows in consequence of other reasons is reduced. The requirement for a efficient system of non-fixed sows is for instance more place, a better climate and a warm farrow-nest.

In which complexity does the castration without anaesthesia causes pain at farrows? What are alternatives?

Castration without anaesthesia is a big surgical intervention. The skin incision and the removal of the balls are very painful for all pigs. Young farrows less than seven days have a full developed pain-awareness. The direct pain while operation is as important as the following pain (lasts at least 24 hours). In Austria there is a discussion about using medicine to suppress the pain of the wound. That is an improvement of the situation, but no solution of the direct pain while operating. To narcotize the farrows with CO² or Isofluran is not relevant. While using CO² farrows are stressed because they seem to suffocate and it takes a long time. Furthermore only veterinarians are allowed to use Isofluran, it is toxic for the liver, bad for fertility and the ozone layer. The only method that is not surgical is the inoculation against boar-smell and mast of boars. This method of treatment seems to be the only meaningful solution. It is not a hormone, but an inoculant. And it has to be clarified, what the expectances of consumers are. The most animal-friendly method is the mast of boars. Here boars would be feed up to the weight of 80kg. And the meat would smell less. But his method is not perfected. Until now there exists no “electric nose” in slaughterhouses.

What do you think about ideal holding of pigs relating to the welfare of the animals?

Relating to the welfare of the animals, the holding in little groups with much agitation on an unhitched substrate and a structured area would be the best solution. A combination of free-range and indoor breeding seems to be optimal. Furthermore a biological farming is an acceptable compromise under condition of economic success. Pigs will be kept well and fit under the above mentioned conditions. But the most important point is the animal care. A good education and a basic understanding for the behaviour of pigs are the groundwork of an optimized welfare of animals.

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DISCLAIMER:
PIG-VISION is a controversial project. We want to show consumers the dimension of animal-misusage while using the example of two pigs. Different opinions from different people are expressed on our homepage. We are not consistent with these opinions and their political background. The consumer shall get an own picture of the situation.
THE PIG-VISION TEAM

In the beginning of the campaign we have sent an interview-request to all speakers of animal protection of Austrian parliament. Until now we only got answer from Christiane Brunner, speaker of animal protection of the Greens (apart from the FPÖ).

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He explains in the interview, what scientists think about the ordinary commercial holding of pigs. Themes are fully slatted floors, holding of sows in farrowing crates and further aspects dealing with breeding and mast of pigs.

In a second video professor Baumgartner talks detailed about the aches that farrows have while being castrated without anaesthesia.

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We from Pig-Vision had a conversation with PROVIEH – Verein gegen tierquälerische Massentierhaltung e.V. to obtain an opinion about the theme of a castration without anaesthesia on farrows.

Pig-Vision: A short time ago PROVIEH recorded a big success concerning McDonalds and BurgerKing. What was the theme – and which consequences did it take?

PROVIEH: „We informed McDonalds and Burger King, that we will start a public campaign, if they should not give us a binding date for their disembarkation for the using of „castrated meat”. Both firmes thought, that it was not necessary to take this information seriously. In June 2009 we started a campaign with radio spots and letters to both companies. The consequence was, that they declared to stop using „castrated meat” until the 1st January 2011. We have chosen these firmes, because they use only less pig meat for their products. Because of this it is easier for them to get meat from companies, which do not castrate anymore. The aspired abandonment of farrow-castration without anaesthesia ist not only good for animal protection, but only for the pig industry. Meat from a boar is more delicate, the costs for the mast are lower, because boars get faster muscles and less fat than their castrated fellows. In earlier times the castration of farrows was accompanied by myths, which can be debilitated. One of these myth is, that boars argue more often. That is not right. Boars fight out their ranking and when they are accepted in their group, there will be no more fights. Only if they will be new formed with new group members, it is possible that those fights will start again.“

Pig-Vision: Which critic has PROVIEH on the castration without anaesthesia?

PROVIEH: „Provieh criticises not only the castration without anaesthesia, but also the castration with anaesthesia. In both cases the consequence is pain and apathy for days, and the cut may cause death of pathogens. In general castration is the reason for economic casualties. Experts of castration are able to castrate fast and competent. But it is evidenced, that laymen will aggravate the situation of the farrows. And there will be always laymen.”

Pig-Vision: Does it give more critical points concerning the usual pig mast?

PROVIEH: „Other critique we see in the loveless high dimensions of mast under industrial conditions. Physical complaints and conduct disorders are nearly always the consequence. Pigs are intelligent, they need a minimum on attention and opportunities to use their intelligence. When there is no offer, pigs will get conduct disorders like clipping of the tails from their fellows. That is the reason why tails are partial docked. Also this is often realized unprofessional. In this case not only the boneless part of tail will be cutted. PROVIEH speaks for the general stopping of pig castration. This demand is satisfiable, if pigs will get enough attention and employment opportunities.

Pig-Vision: How does the ideal keeping of pigs looks like for PROVIEH?

PROVIEH: „The ideal keeping of pigs should be species-appropriate. Pigs must be able to fulfil their needs. If pigs are in same groups from the beginning of their life, they have already fight out their ranking and will not argue or bite themselves anymore. The ideal keeping has to be loveful, too. This is not possible in industrial factory farmings, where are only less employees. An ideal keeping also includes a manageable amount of pig groups.”

Pig-Vision: Thanks a lot for the interview and much success for the future of your work!
The interview partner of PROVIEH was: Prof. Dr. Sievert Lorenzen and Stefan Johnigk. The interviewer were: Michael Hartl and Robert Kresse.

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[Source Castration Footage: http://www.tierschutzvideos.de]

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