Investigator's undercover report
For the investigation we picked the farms randomly to really give a representative overview of the farms in the area. For each of the countries, we selected a region where the farm density was very high, before selecting the farms arbitrarily, without knowing what the conditions would be like. If the farm kept the pigs under adequate conditions, that’s what we would have filmed.
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Regarding the conditions of the pigs, I was surprised that there was no or very little difference throughout the countries.
The difference between the pigs kept in outdoor systems – where enrichment, space and simply the ability to behave as pigs was much better – and those in the typically much more barren indoor systems, was apparent.
Most of the pigs have their tails docked. I attribute this to the aggressiveness that comes from the conditions under which they live. These make them so aggressive that they attack each other, they bite each others’ ears, they bite each others’ tails off.
Outdoors, the pigs have more opportunity to explore, play and interact, and so appeared more content. Those inside live under incredible conditions. They are crammed into little spaces, in small compartments in which five to maybe 20 pigs are kept. There is a bare wooden or concrete floor. There is nothing for the pigs to do, absolutely nothing.
Most of the pigs have their tails docked. I attribute this to the boredom that comes from the conditions under which they live – they will bite and chew each others’ tails as this is the only source of stimulation in this barren environment.
Even in the good farms, individual sows were locked into narrow crates (sow stalls). The sows in these systems cannot turn round and are fed restricted diets. This is why we witnessed so much abnormal behaviour – sows bit the bars of their crates and sham-chewed because they were frustrated and hungry. The absence of sow stalls in the UK meant that confinement was less of an issue in the English farms we visited than in the rest of Europe, but we saw farrowing crates in use, and as is typical, their use meant that sows and their piglets were unable to bond in any meaningful way.
I have a very strong feeling that the way these animals are treated, the way they are kept and the way they have to live their lives, is very wrong and this should not be going on.
If I had to imagine a hell for pigs, then it would be exactly what I have seen during the course of the investigation.
I feel horrified by the images that I have seen on the farms we visited. The pictures of how the animals that are produced for human consumption in Europe are treated will not leave my head for a long time.
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