- The majority of pigs in Ireland are raised indoors in factory farms where they cannot indulge in their normal behaviours such as rooting (ie. digging with their snouts).
- Pigs in indoor systems have their tails docked to prevent biting and injuries by other pigs due to lack of space. This is in violation of the EU Pigs Directive which EU member states have often failed to enforce.
- Pregnant sows are put in ‘farrowing crates’ for many weeks where they cannot even turn around.
- Pigs are usually slaughtered when they are between 4 and 10 months old. Their natural life-span would have been 15 years.
- Pigs are considered to have an intelligence level equal to that of a 3-year old child.
Videos:
- Behind the walls of Irish pig farming (2019)
- Pigs in intensive Irish farms – Roscommon Animal Rights
- Undercover footage – Roscommon Animal Rights
- Hogwood – documentary
Related Links:
- Pigs – from Compassion in World Farming
- Standard Legal Practise on Irish Farms
- Why Vegan – from Vegan Sustainability Magazine
