An average breeding sow farm has over 800 sows. The “task” of these animals is to “produce” piglets, which are fattened for slaughter within six months.
In conventional pig farming, sows are confined to cages for up to 28 days. Even sows in organic pig farming or with an Animal Protection certification must give birth while they cannot move. In such a cage, a sow can either sit or stand. That’s it. She has nowhere to go. She cannot make a nest or retreat. She cannot walk away from the pain during childbirth, nor can she move to calm her anxiety. She has no opportunity to see, smell, or feel the piglets that are born. She cannot communicate with her piglets in any way.
An average sow’s labor lasts 3 hours. In the days leading up to it, the (soon-to-be) mother prefers to retreat to a safe, secluded place to calmly give birth to her young. Pigs prefer to do this in a nest they have built themselves, using roots, grass, and other vegetation. This need is universal, and we see this behavior wherever sows are given the opportunity. In conventional pig farming, however, sows are not given this opportunity. They have no way to prepare practically for the birth. Once the labor begins, they are locked between two steel bars, making it impossible to turn around. The floor is made of concrete, and she is forced to lie in her own feces and urine. For an animal that is naturally clean, this must be a nightmare. During labor, the sow is surrounded by dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of other sows in the same distressing situation. As a result, a sow’s labor in intensive farming lasts on average 5 hours, sometimes even longer. The stress from the environment, the unrest in the barn, and especially the inability to move make each birth a traumatic event.
Farmers claim that the use of a cage is necessary to prevent the mother from accidentally lying on her piglets and killing them. While this can indeed happen, especially if the mother and her piglets do not have enough space, alternative systems have already been developed and are in use where the sow is not confined. In these systems, “death by crushing” is a rarity. The total number of piglets that die in such systems is often lower than in the cages.
A birth is a dynamic event. It is stressful, painful, and, for new mothers, also fearful. The least we can offer sows is the ability to walk, lie down, and have the chance to smell and feel their newborns.
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