Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
no. of animals killed per second in the u.s. industries: 363
363
288
51
9
9
4
1
1
enclosure that separates her from her piglets but leaves her as se-
verely restricted as she was in the gestation crate. There, the sow
nurses her babies for a fraction of the time she would naturally,
until they are prematurely weaned and begin to get fattened for
slaughter. The sow, meanwhile, is reimpregnated and returned to
the gestation crate for another four-month period.
Although pigs can live to be fifteen years old, breeding sows are
typically “culled”—killed because they're no longer considered
productive enough—after an average of 3.5 litters. Before it all
ends for her, she may endure three or four successive pregnancies
and farrowings—spending nearly two years crated so restrictively
she cannot even turn around.
