Welfare of Dry Sows

Abstract

The popular perception of pig farming is of contented pigs roaming and rooting in the soil. This could not be further from the truth for many of the world’s pigs. In the Western Hemisphere, most pigs are factory farmed. Large numbers of animals are crammed into small pens, confined in cages or crates, and subjected to an array of routine mutilations, such as tail docking and castration. Every stage of pig rearing on these farms is geared toward maximum production, often causing considerable suffering. This intensive pig industry has been spreading around the world. The sheer scale of global pig