Animal welfare: the beautiful wide world

"Out of the way! Now I'm coming! ”I push my way stubbornly through the many colleagues to get to the feeding trough. "Ouch! Be careful where you go! ”Complains a pig next to me. I ignore it, stick my head in the trough and start smacking my lips. I gleefully eat the leftover food and the mixed in food, which should make us fat and fat faster. I am one of many pigs in a fattening farm. Our kennel is small and there are far too many pigs in it. The ground is hard and cold. We don't even have much space to sleep. Sometimes we're ankle deep in our own crap.

A new pig came yesterday. It told us about the big, wide world out there, how beautiful the sun is and about the lush, green meadows. I had no idea what it was talking about, though. But it sounded like a beautiful dream.

After this story I became curious. So I went looking for a little loophole to convince myself of it. After many attempts, I finally managed to get the lock open. I snuck out with my best friend. We quietly closed the gate again. Once outside, we hid until it got dark. When we felt safe and our owner had made his daily evening tour, we dared to come out of our hiding place and run away. After an endless hike, we heard familiar noises. We quietly approached the building from which the grunt came. How surprised we were when we saw two pigs lying comfortably in the litter, all four of them stretching out and grunting satisfied. It was very different from what we used to be. Amazed, my best friend asked me: “Are we in heaven?” The two residents looked at us puzzled and burst out laughing: “Where are you from?” So we told them about our stable, where we had to live and the terrible conditions there. The two pityingly shared their food with us and offered us a place to sleep. I've never slept so well.

This story is by no means uncommon. According to an article by Greenpeace, there are still countless factory farms today. The animals live together in a very small space. They often stand in their own droppings and even have to sleep in them. Some of them have bloody injuries that no one cares about. In order to avoid infections, the animals are mixed with antibiotics in the special fattening feed, which should make the pigs fat quickly. This type of animal husbandry can lead to serious behavioral disorders, which can make the pigs quickly aggressive. In order to prevent serious injuries, the curly tail is shortened as it is often the target of biting attacks.

But what can each individual do to stop factory farming? Above all, we shouldn't buy cheap meat from the supermarket, but from the butcher around the corner. They can best tell us where they get their meat from. Most of the time, he gets it from the surrounding farmers anyway. So I can eat my meat from a healthy animal with a clear conscience, which ultimately also benefits my health. Last but not least, the transport route of the animals is much shorter, which in turn benefits the environment and I also support the economy in the region. So it is worthwhile in every respect to dig a little deeper into your pocket!

Photo / Video: Shutterstock.