Meet the Pigs. A Portrait

Résumé ou Introduction

2017 57,9 million pigs were slaughtered in Germany (Albert Schweitzer Stiftung). More than 40% of the farmed meat worldwide is from pigs. The meat of pigs is the most similar to human meat (Masson 2018).
Hannover Animal Save meets once a month in front of the slaughterhouse Leine-Fleisch GmbH, where 500.000 pigs are slaughtered each year. At the 21st of November 2018 this slaughterhouse is the third one within a month, which is denounced for animal abuse. Videos show how pigs are tortured with electro shockers up to 40 times (Doeleke 2018). While I was standing at the trucks and petting the pigs whose trucks were waiting in a row to drive into the slaughterhouse, while hearing the screams of pigs out of the building, I was shocked about the many scratches and wounds many of them had. I saw the very few space they had, fights between them, fearful eyes, cut tails and froth on some of their snaps. But what I also realized was, that I do not really know much about pigs, despite the fact that they are intelligent and not so dirty as many humans think.
This essay takes an in depth look on who pigs really are, with a focus on the domestic pig, since this is the species which is used mostly in the meat industry. To judge conditions, it is necessary to have foundation of knowledge about the species. This essay will provide the information’s which are necessary, to argue if pigs should be ethical considered and to make qualified statements about observed conditions.