Project 1882
ANIMALS IN FACTORY FARMS

Pigs

Pigs that live outdoors under natural conditions spend about 50 % of the day rooting and grazing. The vast majority of pigs raised in factory farms never get to go outside and their indoor environment is mostly cramped and inhospitable.

This is what Project 1882 is doing for the pigs:

  • Putting pressure on politicians and authorities to change the laws that affect pigs, both in Sweden and at the EU level. 
  • Advocating, among other things, for all pigs to have the right to go outside, for instituting a ban on carbon dioxide stunning of pigs during slaughter and a ban on routine surgical castration of piglets
  • Informing the public about the situation of pigs, such as in the campaign No Animal Left Behind for strengthened animal welfare legislation at the EU level.
  • Running the inspirational website "Välj Vego" (Choose Vego) that aims to make it easier for more people to forgo pork and opt for plant-based alternatives.
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Pigs

The three biggest issues

Overcrowding and boredom

The growing pigs are kept in groups of around ten pigs in a pen that is approximately nine square meters until they weigh over 100 kilograms and are deemed ready for slaughter.  Breeding takes place indoors in large stables. The environment is very monotonous and devoid of stimulation and the pigs have nothing to occupy themselves with.

No outdoor access

The vast majority of pigs are kept solely indoors, even though pigs are highly active and curious animals. To be able to thrive they would instead need to spend most of their waking hours rooting in the ground, grazing and exploring their environment.

Torturous carbon dioxide stunning

The most common method of stunning pigs at the slaughterhouse is using carbon dioxide, both for organically and conventionally raised pigs. Pigs experience strong discomfort and feelings of suffocation from carbon dioxide as they struggle to get away from the gas. It can take up to 1½ minutes before they finally lose consciousness.

Pigs

Issues with pig factories

Pigs need to explore their environment and root in the ground for a significant portion of their waking hours in order to thrive. In factory farms, pigs are kept confined in tight spaces on hard floors without anything to keep them occupied. Project 1882 is working towards ensuring that all pigs have the right to outdoor access and advocating for the ban on carbon dioxide use during slaughter.

Overcrowding and boredom

Millions of pigs are slaughtered in the EU each year. (1) When piglets are about one month old, they are promptly separated from their mother. This occurs much earlier than the natural weaning age which is around four months. (3) The growing pigs are often kept in groups of around ten pigs in a pen that is less than nine square meters. They remain there until they weigh over 100 kilograms and are deemed ready for slaughter. Breeding takes place indoors in large stables. The environment is very monotonous and devoid of stimulation. The pigs have nothing to occupy them. They are fed two or three times a day which becomes the highlight of their day. (2) Crowding and competition lead to significant stress before and during feeding.

Behavioral disorders and pressure sores

Animals that don’t get to act out their natural behaviors sometimes develop behavioral disorders. It is not uncommon for the stress, crowding, lack of stimulation and hunger in factory farms to lead to pigs biting each other's tails and ears. (4) In many other countries, tail docking is performed on newborn piglets to prevent this. In Sweden, where tail docking is banned, around 70,000 pigs with tail injuries are reported from slaughterhouses. (5) Some sows suffer from painful bedsores, known as pressure sores, partly due to the hard floors. (6) According to a Swedish study, as many as 12 % of the slaughtered pigs had fully developed, painful gastric ulcers and over 50 % had some form of stomach issue. (7)

Castration

Newborn male piglets are castrated a few days after birth. Surgical castration without anesthesia was banned in Sweden on January 1, 2016. Surgical castration with anesthesia causes less suffering than without anesthesia, but the procedure always involves stressful handling of the pigs. Administering anesthesia requires prolonged handling and restraining of the pigs. Injection of the anesthetic can also cause pain and the anesthesia itself does not eliminate all pain associated with the procedure. The reason for castrating pigs is so that those who eat pork can avoid so-called boar taint which is an unpleasant odor and taste of some uncastrated male pigs. (8) Another reason for castration is that pigs are kept in such confined quarters that they cannot avoid each other and they lack stimulation. In such a limiting environment, pigs can start to harm each other due to aggressive and sexual behaviors and this problem is exacerbated without castration. (9) So-called vaccination against boar taint, also known as immunocastration, is a more humane method than surgical castration. However, this method is still relatively uncommon in the EU. (8)

Transport and slaughter

When they are about six months old, the pigs are transported to the slaughterhouse. Gas stunning using carbon dioxide is the most common method of stunning pigs at slaughter, regardless of whether they are organically or conventionally raised. The pigs are forced into a cage that is lowered into a chamber filled with carbon dioxide that is meant to render them unconscious. Pigs experience strong discomfort and feelings of suffocation from carbon dioxide causing them to struggle to try and escape from the cages. (10) It can take up to 1½ minutes before they lose consciousness. (11) After stunning, the pigs are killed by having their throats cut causing them to bleed out while hanging upside down.

Organic pig farming

There are two types of organic pig farming in the EU: KRAV-certified and EU-organic. Both types require that the animals receive organic feed which means it is free from synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and that they have outdoor access. While KRAV's regulations require outdoor access to grassy pastures during the summer (12), it is sufficient for EU organic pigs to have access to a small yard with a concrete floor adjacent to the stable. A small proportion of all pigs in the EU are raised under organic standards.

  1. Official Statistics of Sweden (2022) Animalieproduktion. Annual and monthly statistics – 2022:05.
  2. Wülbers-Mindermann M. et al. (2000) Behavioural pig husbandry – for reduced stress and morbidity. SLU, Facts Agriculture 17:2000.
  3. Jensen P. (2006) Djurens beteende och orsakerna till det. Stockholm, Natur och Kultur.
  4. Westin, R. (2003) Svansbitning hos gris relaterat till individuell tillväxt och ras. Examensarbete 2000:46, SLU.
  5. Swedish Board of Agriculture, personal message 2012-10-24 and the Swedish National Food Agency's slaughter injury statistics, personal message 2013-12-20 and 2016-12-20.
  6. Swedish Pig (2009) Bogsår – förekomst och riskfaktorer. Pigrapport 42, april 2009.
  7. Swedish Animal Health Service (2008). Magsår hos svenska grisar – besättningsbundet. Djurhälsonytt, 2008-06-23.
  8. Immunocastration - a controversial option. Article in the magazine Grisföretagaren, 2015-01-28.
  9. Scientific Panel for Animal Health and Welfare (2004) Welfare Aspects of the Castration of Piglets. The EFSA Journal 91: 1–18.
  10. Scientific Panel for Animal Health and Welfare (2004) Welfare Aspects of Animal Stunning and Killing methods. Report of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
  11.  Atkinson, S. et al. (2015) Group stunning of pigs during commercial slaughter in a Butina pasternoster system using 80% nitrogen and 20% carbon dioxide compared to 90% carbon dioxide. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Environment and Health.
  12.  KRAV rules 2023.
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Project 1882 works for the animals that are the most exploited and suffer the worst. Thanks to your support, we can change the situation of pigs in factory farms.

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Pigs

FAQ

In 2023, the European Commission is expected to present a proposal for new animal welfare legislation at the EU level. Project 1882 is actively working to ensure that the proposed legislation is ambitious and based on the needs of the animals. Regarding pigs, we would like to see the following:

  • An end date to the painful carbon dioxide pre-slaughter stunning method.
  • Strengthened animal welfare legislation for animal transportation, including a maximum of 8 hours of transport time and a ban on the export of animals to countries outside the EU.
  • An end to all forms of mutilation, including tail docking, tooth clipping and a ban on routine surgical castration.
  • Space requirements and the provision of comfortable resting areas with bedding that meet both comfort and behavioral needs.
  • A ban on the sole use of slatted floors.
  • The right to outdoor access for all pigs.
  • The requirement for pigs to roam free throughout their entire lives, with no confinement allowed.
  • A ban on restrictive feeding practices, such as those applied to sows.