With this comparative video line-up we want to provide a retrospective overview of the lives of the two pigs we observed. For this reason, we are presenting the most important milestones in both of their lives through a small fraction of the videos made.

And now, finally, here are 10 randomly selected pictures from the last seven months (different pictures will appear every time you load this page)

Look at all the Pig-Vision-pictures now

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Slaughter of X15 (0)
• X15′s final parade (1)
• Pig-vision – Life of pigs (0)

X15 is one of two brother pigs who we have been observing since their birth in June 2009. We have documented their lives through photographs and video films. Two lives which could not be more different. X11, whose name has meanwhile become “Jackpot”, only experienced the standard life of intensively-reared pigs for just the first three weeks of his life: a slatted floor, no access to the open, never to root around or bathe in mud. After 3 weeks Jackpot was brought to an animal shelter, where he continues to live a happy life till this day; he has everything that a pig should be entitled to as part of his nature.

X15, by contrast, has gone through everything that a pig goes through as part of the industrial production of pork, bacon, and ham. Everything that happens to him also happens to over 98% of the 5.3 million pigs, who are bred, fattened and killed every year in Austria alone. X15 spent the last seven months in a hall. In this hall with a slatted floor his sole activities were eating, drinking and sleeping. And it is from this hall that X15 will be chased out of today, packed onto a truck and brought to the slaughterhouse, where he will be killed.

When we arrive at the pig farm, we briefly greet the owner of the factory, the assisting veterinarian and the slaughterman, who in this case will be driving the truck to the slaughterhouse himself. We put on sterile clothing. After all, we want to enter the main hall, but in so doing we should not endanger any pigs through the introduction of germs.

The employees themselves do not put on any sterile clothing as we walk together the pens. They told us the pigs would be immune to their germs.

X15 is in the same bay where he has been fattened for the past four months. He does not know what is happening and so he does not run to the truck outside straightaway, so he has to be chased. He pauses at other bays and snuffles his fellow sufferers through the grates, who, unlike X15, have to stay there a while longer. But there is no time for such curiosity. The employees chase the pig onward. They force X15 on using a plate, which is about as wide as the aisle between the bays, and by continually beating him on his lower back. He walks on. When he arrives outside he is irritated by the bright sun and fresh air; he is afraid of the truck’s loading ramp and jerks to a halt. Initially, no amount of pushing and pressing seems to help – but with enough force X15 is brought onto the trailer.

The truck is secured and the journey to the slaughterhouse begins.

Of course these people use every individual pig to their own advantage. No matter whether the pig runs onto the truck of his or her own free will, or whether it must be assisted either gently or by force: it seems that every pig, just like any other creature, has an fixed purpose from the moment he or she is born.
Around half an hour later we arrive at the slaughterhouse. It is a small operation in rural surroundings. This slaughter room is only used once or twice a week, and so X15 is at least spared the chaos and noise of an industrial slaughterhouse.. The slaughtermen prepare the slaughter room and then go to fetch X15.
But X15 has something different in mind. When they open the truck X15 is busy with a small heap of straw that he found in the trailer. He is seeing, smelling and tasking straw for the first time. He does not want to let it go. He keeps on grabbing it, turning around again and putting his snout back in the straw.

But this time the slaughtermen are also stronger. A rope is knotted around the pig’s upper jaw. With a similar constant pressure against his sides and from behind as when he was shoved onto the trailer in the first place, he is now forcibly removed.

The closer we get to the place at which pigs are regularly brought to their deaths by human hand, the more X15 struggles. He does not want to enter the room. Whether it is fear of the unknown or whether he already suspects something, we do not know, but we observe his panicked expression and the foam running from his mouth.. He jerks to a halt, but two men are stronger than this pig, still not yet an adult.. He is almost still a child – totally alone against two fully-grown male humans.

They do their utmost to push X15 in the middle of the slaughter room. His head is being secured. A man stoops over him and attaches the captive-bolt pistol to his forehead. A final terrified glance, a rapid breath and the struggling of his legs against the floor. But resistance is futile. The bang echoes loudly the bang echoes against the walls. The shot of the bolt sends X15 literally 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 whilst hanging with their heads to the ground. This is so the blood drains more quickly from the body.

But at half height X15 suddenly starts to wriggle again. He slides out of the chain, banging down on the floor with his 120 kg weight. He lies on one side and starts kicking in the air as if mad. He throws himself all over the place. Blood smears over his face.

So this is what is meant by the “swift and painless” killing of an animal. If mistakes that dramatically increase the suffering like this one were only to happen to just one pig in every thousand, then this would mean that 5,300 pigs would die in such an agonising manner every year in Austria alone.

A slaughterman secures X15’s head again by stepping on the rope, which is fastened to his upper jaw. This presses his head against the floor. The second slaughterman takes a sharp knife and stabs X15 in the throat.
A gargling noise. Blood spurts out his throat to the rhythm of his heart. A puddle of blood is slowly forming around his head. As his breath rattles, X15’s legs continue to jerk wildly. X15 is neither stunned, nor is he killed painlessly. The faces of the slaughtermen express a mixture of shock, uncertainty and embarrassment. Because we are have cameras watching? Or do such situations just remind them too strongly that this is not a mobile mass of flesh, but a feeling, conscious being? We do not know.

Over the course of one long minute the rattling breath and leg movements become increasingly weak. In the end, they stop completely. Now again the chain is put around X15’s leg and his body is hoisted up. The remaining blood is to be drained from his body. Whilst he is hanging and breathes a rattled breath for the last time and cleaned with water spray, X15 dies.

A long and most certainly painful death. A single individual. Everybody, who has known pigs in an environment where they are free to develop their own personality, knows that every single one is different. Just like dogs, cats and human beings, they have their own character. A feeling conscious being with his or her own consciousness. Executed. For the crime of being a pig? A young pig. Seven months old and weighing 120 kg. No pig is allowed to get older than these few months in this cost-effective system, if humans what to consume them. This is because after 120 kilograms every further kilo requires more feed – and therefore costs more. Consumers demand cheap meat.

Somehow we cannot really be mad at the slaughtermen – at least, not in this moment in the slaughter room. We are more disturbed, because the two slaughterman in our conversations before and after were – in their own way – nice. Yet periodically they simply switch their compassion off, blanking out the fact they are dealing with sensitive creatures and just kill a few pigs. Just as they have always done it. They perform the greatest act of violence possible – the taking of a life. Something no-one can give back.

But X15 is more than this pig who had to die today. X15 is a symbol for all pigs who are bred on behalf of all meat-eaters, who are castrated without anaesthetic, fattened, transported and killed. X15 stands for the 5.3 million of pigs in Austria, the 50 million pigs in Germany, 250 million in the EU and 1.2 billion of pigs on this planet that are bred and killed every year.

Around the world, our habit of eating meat kills more than 55 billion animals. Every year! X15 also represents this. Do you think this sounds terrible and cruel? There are many ways to spare other X15s from such a life. By buying meat you create a market demand for meat. And so more X15s are killed. So what is the solution? We will leave the answer to this question up to you and wish you a great deal of compassion and the courage to act. For we owe this, and a whole lot more, to all our fellow animals.

Michael Hartl
Head of the Pig-Vision campaign
Robert Kresse
Pig-Vision Campaign Team

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Slaughter of X15 (0)
• X15′s final parade (1)
• Twitter-record on the death of X15 (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:

• X15 is determined to death (0)
• Twitter-record on the death of X15 (0)
• Interview with “Menschen für Tierrechte” (People for Animal Rights) (0)

Thomas & Campo

X15 is dead. His death was like his short life: brutal, torturous and grim. A wave of emotions take over if you watch the last images of his life – anger, powerlessness, pain and even shame to live in such a society where everything that has been documented here is accepted as “normal”, as part of everyday life in the so called agriculture industry.

When the impotent rage of the observer begins looking for culprits, it is natural to wish to “kill the messenger”. In this case, it is we who are the messengers: we were able to publish the fate of X15 online, but we did not even attempt to save his life at the last moment. Instead, we cold-bloodedly and cynically held the camera up and filmed how he was murdered.

An understandable reaction, but it is missing something; the messenger is neither the cause nor root of evil: there are 5 million X15s every year in Austria alone, they existed before our project and sadly will continue to exist after it is over.

But how can we then channel the pent-up emotions, where is the “culprit”, who we could at least “hate” from the bottom of our hearts? Is it the simple farmer, who lives from his animals? Is it the veterinarian, who approves the forms to state the animals are being kept appropriately? Is it the slaughterman, who in the final moments does not manage once to set the bolts properly to ensure that the victim is at least stunned for long enough not to experience his own death? Or should we hate every housewife, every consumer who buys ham and bacon in the supermarket without a second thought?

The phenomenon of modern animal exploitation is so monstrous that there are no easy solutions. Anyone who wants to change anything must begin with their own surroundings. informing more and more people about what is going on behind closed doors and high walls, try to raise awareness and change behaviour.

When I look back over the PIG-VISION project, I am first of all glad that, as a direct result of this project, the little pig JACKPOT is able to live a happy live in the Schabenreith animal paradise.

A downside of the campaign, on the other hand, is that whilst the 30,000 people have followed the project in its various stages, we have not reached out even further beyond the sphere of people already sensitive to animal rights issues. We wanted to avoid the standard “preaching to the converted”, we wanted PIG VISION to interest people that sit eating roast pork every Sunday, provoke discussion and cause them to reflect on their attitude. That was indeed an ambitious wish – – who, of their own free will, would choose to deal with unpleasant truths or even change the habits? But this project can also be a useful boost in motivation for those that are already aware of animal rights issues: new motivation to inform others about the consequences of their actions. Just consider this: Statistically, the average European kills about 20 animals every year as a result of their eating habits – if at least one of every two followers of the PIG VISION project could cause three people to contemplate their attitudes to animal exploitation, what results this could have in terms of reducing animal suffering. Almost one million less cases of violence and suffering 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; we will continue to report online about the adventures of JACKPOT, together with his friends. I also hope it will be possible to put this unique project together on DVD, so it may further serve as a tool to sensitise people.

Thomas Winger
United Creatures

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Pig-vision and X15 (0)
• The lives of the Pig-Vision pigs – a review (0)
• What happened so far… (0)

The pictures on this video are neither nice nor enjoyable. They depict the slaughter of a pig. One hundred percent legal – one hundred percent “normal”. Every day countless pigs worldwide are killed in this, or even more cruel ways.

This pig is X15, the pig that was accompanied by camera and documented for seven months as part of the Pig-Vision campaign.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• X15′s final parade (1)
• The lives of the Pig-Vision pigs – a review (0)
• Twitter-record on the death of X15 (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:

• Twitter-record on the death of X15 (0)
• X15 is determined to death (0)
• X15′s final parade (1)

Arrival at the slaughterhouse

I don’t want to

Everything is ready.

Check out more pictures now on the flickr-Album.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Slaughter of X15 (0)
• The lives of the Pig-Vision pigs – a review (0)
• X15 is determined to death (0)

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

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Good Appetite – Jackpot digs in quite well (0)
• Jackpot is feeling well also in winter! (0)
• The life of Jackpot – Lucky pig! (0)

Other posts that might be interesting:

• X15 and his brothers and sisters shortly before slaughtering (0)
• The lives of the Pig-Vision pigs – a review (0)
• Slaughter of X15 (0)

06:49 am
In a moment we´ll leave to accompany X15 with cameras on his last path. We´ll keep you updated.

08:34 am
We already took the exit from the highway and almost arrived at the farm, where X15 has been fattened for seven months.

08:41 am
We arrived at the farm. The veterinarian and the butcher (who will undertake the transport by himself) are already here.

08:57 am
Hands and hand movements, used to drive pigs, are loading X15 on a clinger. They shut down the lid and depart.

09:12 am
We follow the transport in direction of the slaughter house. X15 is transported alone in the clinger. There is some straw in the clinger.

09:37 am
Arrival at the slaughter house – X15 is still in the clinger. The two butcher prepare the room, where X15 will be slaughtered.

09:39 am
Is has taken about a minute for the butcher, to get X15 away from the straw. Now X15 is driven and pulled into the slaughtering area.

09:41 am
After the shot with the stud gun X15 was struggling so strongly, that he fell down from the hanger. So the butcher stabbed him to death on the floor.

09:44 am
X15 is death. After about two minutes of death struggle he stopped moving. The processing of his body begins immediately afterwards.

09:52 am
The slaughtering area has been cleaned with water from the blood, which has been everywhere. Now X15s bristles are withdrawn.

09:57 am
In this moment the vital parts are removed from X15s death body. A part of them is hang up, the other part goes to the bristles of X15 as garbage.

10:05 am
Right now X15 has been divided in two parts by saw and axe. Now various parts are cut out of him.

10:09 am
After the two body-halves have been washed, the left-overs of X15 are taken to the cold storage room.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• X15 is determined to death (0)
• Slaughter of X15 (0)
• X15′s final parade (1)