International Fund for Animal Welfare: Ban Intensive pig farming and label all pork with method of production

Pigs are kept in cages their entire life, before being sent to abbatoirs at about 4 months old, having never seen the light of day. Piglets are moved from farrowing units to metal cages or concrete pens. These pigs, who are not used to having no milk from their mother, often try to suckle from other piglets, or suckle from pigs tails. From here the piglets are moved at 6 weeks to rearing pens to be fattened. These pigs often suffer leg problems due to standing on hard floors for most of their life. This can also cause problems during travel and is one reason for before-slaughter deaths.

Even after a sow has given birth, the sow is still kept in a cage only centimetres larger than her, herself. Her piglets are kept in an ajacent cage. This is supposedly to stop the sow from crushing her piglets, although research has suggested that when given a larger area, and the correct management, the piglet death rates are not larger than when a sow crate is used.

Research has shown that their are 112 leg conditions for pigs which are caused by standing on hard floors. By banning intensive farming in pigs,  the amount of pigs getting these conditions would dramatically decrease.