Now this material shouldn’t remain stashed away on our website. We want somebody to use this material to create a short, interesting, ingenious video. Therefore, we are looking for people with the necessary skills, experience and motivation to help us.

In principle, we are wide open as to how the video clips are made – but these two videos at the end of this story will give you an example on how the clip could be put together.

Please spread this call via email, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, forums or other places to help us to find the right people who are able and willing to support us.

Anyone who thinks they could contribute to such a project can get involved by emailing: michael.hartl@pig-vision.com

The project is suitable for projects at university, too!

Following videos will show technical standard and direction which the clip should go in:

Other posts that might be interesting:

• The future of pig-vision is unknown. (0)
• An interview with the Albert Schweitzer Foundation (0)
• Film: pig-vision, an introduction (0)

Now then, in this comparison of videos, we want to give you a retrospective overview about the life of the observed pigs. For that purpose we are going to show here the most important stations of both lives with a small fraction of the developed videos.

And for completion there are still 10 pictures which are chosen by chance and which were originated in those seven months. (Every time if you visit this page, different pictures will be shown.)

Jetzt alle pig-vision-Bilder ansehen

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Slaughtering of X15 (0)
• X15′s last walk (1)
• X15 and his brothers and sisters shortly before slaughtering (0)

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

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Slaughtering of X15 (0)
• X15′s last walk (1)
• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)

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.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Sorry but there are no related posts to this article.

Thomas & Campo

X15 is dead. His death was like his short life: brutal, dolorous and comfortless. A spate of emotions comes up, if you see the last pictures of his life – angriness, helplessness and shame about the fact, that everything what happened is accepted as “normal”. That is daily routine in the so called agriculture.

It is natural, if you are looking for culprits, for instance while having the wish “to kill the messenger“. In this case we are messengers, we published the destiny of X15, but we did not saved his life. Moreover we filmed his death. But we have to mention that we are not the reason for the evil: 5 million X15 die every year in Austria, X15 existed before our project began and unfortunately afterwards.

But how can we channelise the pent-up emotions, where is the culprit, who should be hated? Is it the farmer, who lives from his animals? Is it the veterinarian, who gives the paper for appropriate holding? Is it the slaughterman, who is not able to anaesthetise the pig enough, so that the animal experiences its own death? Or should we hate every housewife, every consumer, who buys brainless ham and bacon in the supermarket?

The phenomenon of modern “animal production” is monstrous, it is not possible to get simple solutions. Everyone, who wants to change anything, has to start in the surrounding. It must be shown, what happens behind the high walls. We should build an awareness for that cruelty and try to change the behaviour.

If I look back on the project PIG-VISION, I am glad to see the direct result of our project – the pig JACKPOT – that got the chance for a fantastic life on animal paradise Schabenreith. 30.000 people attended the project. But the downer is, that we could not reach enough people who are not interested in themes like animal protection. Usually we wanted to avoid the „preaching to the converted“, we tried to be interesting for those, who are sitting Sundays on a roast pork and to reconsider their attitude and discuss it. But it seemed to be only a wish – who wants to deal with displeasing truths or change the habits? But also for people with awareness for animal rights that project can be a new boosted motivation: a motivation to refer others to the consequences of their acting. On average every Middle-European kills in one year about 20 animals with his eating habits. If every second person standing behind PIG-VISION brings 3 persons to think about the own attitude concerning animal exploitation with the consequence to avoid the misery for the animals, it is possible to reach one million less cases of violence and distress every year! These are only drops in the ocean, but only drops will fill the ocean.

Finally PIG-VISION will not end with the death of X15. In the future we will report on the website about the adventures of JACKPOT with his friends. And I hope it will be possible to put this unparalleled project on DVD for sensitising people.

Thomas Winger
United Creatures

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Pig-vision and X15 (0)
• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• What happened so far… (0)

The pictures on this video are neither nice nor enjoyable. It´s the slaughtering of a pig. A hundred percent legal – a hundred percent „usual“. Every day numberless pigs worldwide are killed in this way or even more cruel ways.

The video is about a pig called X15; this pig was accompanied and his life and death documented with cameras for seven months.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• X15′s last walk (1)
• How we experienced slaughter (0)

Initially X15 didnt want to leave the transport – it seemed as if he didnt want to leave his new toy (straw). After some encouragement he left the transport and went determined into the slaughter room. There the two butchers were already waiting. To pretect the two men and himself X15 was fixated with a rope around his upper jaw. Due to that the captive-bolt pistol can be well targeted. With one shot from the captive-bolt pistol the animal is stunned.

Then one of X15´s hind legs was fixated to draw him up. This happens because its only allowed to stab pigs while hanging; blood has to come out in a flush to provide fastest bleeding. The duration of bleeding lasts from 1,5 mins to 2 mins. After bleeding X15 was freed from his bristles and then the abdomen and the upper part of the body was opened to remove all of the inner organs. Liver, lung and heart as well as kidneys and melt were examined by the veterinarian. After X15 was cutten into halves and spinal cord and brain were removed, a so-called examination of the carcass was conducted; when a report on trichina has been made the meat got a mark to prove its quality.

There are three legal possibilities to stun pigs:

shot with captive-bolt pistol, electric gripper (electric stunning), gas

X15 was, as mentioned, killed via shot from the captive-bolt pistol. Despite the right location of the shot and the correct potency of the round, X15 showed strong reactions of defense afterwards. The usage of a captive-bolt pistol is legal. A lot of times i had to observe such strong defense reactions, when the animal in fact should be stunned That´s why i try to never use this stunning-method.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• Slaughtering of X15 (0)
• X15′s last walk (1)

Arrival at the slaughterhouse

Resistance

Everything is ready.

Check out more pictures on the flickr-Album.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Slaughtering of X15 (0)
• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• How we experienced slaughter (0)

Watch an up-to-date video of lucky Jackpot.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• Jackpot is feeling well also in winter! (0)
• Good Appetite – Jackpot digs in quite well (0)

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• X15 and his brothers and sisters shortly before slaughtering (0)
• Slaughtering of X15 (0)