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)

Being in a small box, the mother is not able to take care for her piglets.

If piglets are in freedom, they are 4 months next to their mother. First abroad the group and afterwards in a group, there exists an intimate connection between mother and children. Piglets learn much from their mother and being social.

It is not the same if pigs are kept in an intensive holding. Right after 3 to 4 weeks piglets are separated from their mother and go to the so called pre-mast. In this period and later in the end-mast they are in groups. Just being one month old, the little pigs have to care for themselves. Before that the mother was next to them, but had no opportunity to help them, to sniff, to lick or to snuggle them.

But what about the further life in the mast?

Full slatted floor:

Full slatted floors are not suitable for the needs of pigs – they only make the working for the staff easier.

Full slatted floors are extreme practically – at the same time they act as a dunging. Excrementals and urines shall flow through the slatted floors or kicked though it. Directly under the floors the excrementals are collected in a canal. That is en extreme burden for the fine nose of the pigs. The nose of pigs is as sensible as the nose of dogs, nobody in Austria would treat his dog like this. But pigs are an exception.

A further burden on those full slatted floors is the development of dangerous gases (ammonia gas). The whole time pigs have to breathe these gases. They often get an inflammation of their air ways. 85,5% of mast pigs in Austria live on full slatted floors!

Material for occupation

Male piglets are castrated without anaesthesia in their first days of life.

Normally there should be laws to give materials for occupation, so that the intelligent pigs get something to play (especially important for piglets). But many factories do not offer those materials. As human children like to play, also little pigs like to play. But with what, when there are only naked slatted floors? The consequence is, that farrows often occupy with the tails, ears or the flanks of their fellow sufferers. Not less they bite in the body parts, it can degenerate to cannibalism.

To avoid that, the tails are often cut in the first days of piglet-life. Without anaesthesia, pain killer or aftercare this painful procedure is done by the farmer. Although this is not allowed as a preventive method, it is a routine method in Austria. But pigs also bite in short tails, because they are bored.

Nowadays some factories offer materials for occupation, mostly iron chains or wooden stacks. But pigs are very intelligent, soon they will being bored because the toys are not changeable. The best material would be organic material, e.g. straw. Pigs can dig into the straw, build a nest, eat and nosh it. But straw is not compatible with the full slatted floors, they will get choked, so most factories do not use straw. Economic efficiency is more important than animal welfare.

98,7% of mast pigs are living without straw litter!
80,3% of all pigs do not have any material for occupation!

Space

A further problem in the mast is the little space. The lawful space is 0,7m² for a pig of 110kg, that is laughable: if a pig of 110kg lies down and stretches its legs, it needs 1m². Pigs in freedom use three spaces: a sleeping berth, a place for excrementals and space where they can busy with foraging and ingestion. Pigs in intensive holding do not have this. They have only little space where they must sleep, eat and go to toilet!

Medicine

Animals which are in a mast, get many medicine, otherwise they would not survive the intensive holding. The stench, the building of ammonia gases because of excrementals, that are inhaled the whole time, causes inflammation of air ways. They cough, catch a cold, some pigs even get asthma. Only while getting medicaments the animals are able do live.

All factories give medicine to their pigs! Pigs – also X 15 – have to live under these disastrous conditions, until they reach their slaughter.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• Interview with “Menschen für Tierrechte” (People for Animal Rights) (0)
• The ordinary keeping of pigs is not appropriate (0)

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.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• The rearing in the view of animal protection (0)
• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• Here „slaughter“, there „cruel murder“ (0)

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.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• The ordinary keeping of pigs is not appropriate (0)
• Jackpot is free to live! (0)

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).

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)
• The rearing in the view of animal protection (0)

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.

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• Pneumonia in pig fattening (0)
• The rearing in the view of animal protection (0)

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• The rearing in the view of animal protection (0)
• Slaughtering of X15 (0)

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

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
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• Pig-vision needs your help (0)

Don’t post videos showing bad stuff like animal abuse, drug abuse, under-age drinking and smoking, or bomb making.

On one hand, we are glad to see that YouTube shares our opinion that the conditions shown in our film amount to animal abuse. On the other hand, castrating piglets without anaesthetic is allowed in Austria, Germany and the USA. Our film shows a totally legal practice, routinely carried out in pig farming.

We are trying to get in touch with Google directly (YouTube is a Google owned company) on the phone, but as yet, we haven’t had any luck getting through. It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth to think that a scene showing an absolutely legal practice should be deactivated.

We need your help!

Because we don’t seem to be getting anywhere, we need your help. If you know anyone who is familiar with reactivating deactivated YouTube films, then please let us know! If you have any ideas yourself, then please contact us via Twitter, Facebook or leave a comment for us here.

When we have any news, you’ll see it here first. We’ll keep you posted.

Here is the film currently deactivated on YouTube:

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• An interview with the Albert Schweitzer Foundation (0)
• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• Pig-Vision in interview with PROVIEH (0)

As a reminder, here is again the video, which shows daily life in the breeding of piglets:

Other posts that might be interesting:

• Life of the pig-vision pigs – a retrospect (0)
• Jackpot is free to live! (0)
• Here „slaughter“, there „cruel murder“ (0)