4 Cruel Pork Industry Practices On Newborn Piglets

If you’ve seen pig videos, you know these animals are both adorable and intelligent. They love to play, being pet and spoiled. Nevertheless, in modern farms, their suffering begins as soon as they are born.

Pigs are highly intelligent and sensitive animals. Scientific studies have shown that their intelligence is equivalent to that of a 3 year old child! Piglets are very active and playful. Just as our dog friends, they respond when being called by their names and demand caresses and attention.

Pigs are real internet stars. Thousands and thousands of videos invade the net with antics of these lovely animals. However, pigs raised for food suffer from abuse the moment after their births:

1. First, piglets weighing less than the stipulated standard weight are cruelly eliminated.  They are often beaten directly to the ground. This merciless practice is made because these pigs tend to suffer more from illnesses and their growth rate is slower, making them useless in the eyes of the meat industry.

2. Cutting teeth: within the first or second day of birth, farmers cut piglets teeth using pliers without any pain relief. They do this to prevent pigs from competing when feeding from their mothers. For them, this procedure is traumatic and very painful.

3. Castration: between the third and the seventh day, farmers cut off pigs’ testicles, often without anesthesia. This cruel practice is made to prevent pigs from releasing certain hormones that make their meat taste different, which is not preferred by consumers.

4. Cutting off piglets’ tails: after their first week, farmers cut their tails, often without anesthesia. This terrible practice is performed because their living conditions are so critical that they develop abnormal behaviors, such as cannibalism.