Pig Farming
Do you know what it's like to be happy as a pig in mud? Well the majority of pigs in Australia don't. Most pigs will never set foot in the outdoors. They can't root in the dirt, wallow in the mud or forage for food. In conventional pig farming pigs are often subjected to painful husbandry procedures like tail tocking, surgical castration and teeth clipping without anaesthetic. But the biggest welfare problem facing Australian pigs is intensive confinement in sow stalls and farrowing crates.
- View 60 Minutes story - The Hidden Truth behind Australia's pig farming industry
- What is the RSPCA doing to get pigs out of sow stalls?
- What are the animal welfare issues associated with pig farming?
- What are the RSPCA Approved Farming standards for pigs?
How you can help
- Shop Humane by choosing RSPCA Approved pork
- Donate to support the RSPCA's work to improve pig welfare
Pig welfare progress in 2010
2010 has been a great year for pig welfare with the first steps finally taken to address intensive confinement of sows.
- In June, the Tasmanian Government announced sow stalls would be phased out from 2017
- One week later, Australian Pork Limited announced an industry-wide review into the future use of sow stalls
- In July, retail giant Coles announced that all fresh pork on its shelves would be sow stall-free from 2014
- In November, Coles followed up this announcement with news that all Coles brand pork would be sow stall-free as well as processed pork produced in Australia and overseas
- Also in November, Australian Pork Limited announced its farmers had voted to voluntarily phase out sow stalls by 2017
The next step for the industry will be to stop using farrowing crates, which are similar to sow stalls but are used when sows are nursing piglets. Many within the industry are already experimenting with more humane farrowing systems that meet the needs of the piglets as well as the sow and the RSPCA fully supports this work.