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| As much as folks don't want to hear it any more there is no money in being cruel to animals. With margins as tight as they are, a system that is cruel to animals will put you out of business very quickly. Be good to the pig and he/she will be good to you. The G-stall deal is just something eye catching that peta and hsus can't paint with their own take on it - they could have picked slatted concrete floors, lack of mode lighting, etc. They, frankly, could care less about pigs or their welfare. They do want to stop animal ag, but I think they also are generally uncaring, self absorbed folks (ie. they don't care about humans either).
The bottom line is we use G-stalls because that's what the sow wants. She is more productive if she isn't fighting with other sows. When it was first introduced, I'm sure lots of hog farmers scratched their head, but it works. This is an industry that is constantly adjusting to try to improve animal welfare so animals produce better (sort of like higher yielding corn?). Lots of folks want to say this is all a corporate thing, but, in truth, innovation happens right on the farm (by me with my finishers or the guy I grow for in his sow facilities). We have some penning systems now and it comes with the standard fighting and injury. It's sort of working, but we're back to putting the hog farmer in more danger and having sows more worked up and injured.
It's truely evil to let folks like hsus make the rules rather than folks who actually do the job. In a sane world the media and others would call them out on it - 'so what do you know about hogs?' Years ago Steve Martin made a joke about ignorant people and one of the characteristics was "criticize things you don't know about". Apparently its now chic to be ignorant.
Btw if you have one sow, g-stalls are not an issue and you're probably not in a position to be overly critical.
Long time ago there would have been short educational films made that asked the question "why do we do it this way". Johnny hog farmer could show his sows in a g-stall and say 'boy that looks pretty confining, is that ok for the sow?' and then go on to answer the question by showing that animals act like animals and for a while the sow is just better off being by herself. Some video of cute piglets and a content sow would have been the last scene along with an invitation to visit a sow farm near you. However, I agree that with the onslaught of the media's attack on animal ag it's hard not to just throw up your hands and let them have their way regardless of the outcome.
If someone has the time and lives near wayne p., it would be great to deliver him a gestating sow. Drop it off in the kitchen and let him work it out.
Bottom Bottom line is that if someone has a better way hog farmers will pick it up in a second, no laws needed. | |
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Another blow to livestock farmers,
