Horrendous Treatment Of Pigs

[PlanetX]

First off, I want to state that I am under no delusion that my home country treats pigs any better so this is not a Thai bashing thread.

I still am sick to my stomach with how some just have total disregard for the humane treatment of pigs.

The slaughterhouse near Changkhlan road is an absolute horror show. They stab them with metal poles just to hurry them up when they are unloading and then slaughter them right infront of the other pigs and all you hear is horrific screaming and crying.

Today one of the trucks carrying them (with them forced one on top of another) took a hard turn and one lost its footing and was crying. I looked over and saw 3 Thai college girls on a motorbike laughing at the poor pig crying and struggling to breathe.

As I said earlier, this is not a Thai-specific problem by no means but its still so sick how they treat them.

Everyone should pay a visit to some of these slaughter houses and hear how absolutely horrific the cries and screams are and you would never eat pork again.

Edited June 13, 2011 by PlanetX

[JimmyTheMook]

The life of most raised animals for mass slaughter is very very sad and probably what inspires most vegetarians.

I've seen the trucks here in Thailand with pigs stacked up on top of each other in little cages and it is very sad to see them suffer like that.

[endure]

But you all still eat pork right?

[thaimiller]

But you all still eat pork right?

Exactly, Its not that bad a scene that they will give it up

[afarang]

If you can find it ,a most interesting show on abattoirs in Indonesia , was on "4 corners". a.b.c.t.v. last week. (australia) .Not pigs, this one is about cattle.Caused quite a kerfufle !!

[IanForbes]

Th OP is right. Unfortunately, pigs are FAR smarter than other lifestock. Cattle are dumb, chickens are dumb, sheep are dumb, but pigs are smart. I've been told they are smarter than dogs and will make good pets. Unfortunately for the pig is they are also tastey. As a hunter, my friends and I try to kill our game quickly and humainly... even though it doesn't always happen. For the most part, animals do not have the capacity to worry about the future. They live in the now. But, they DO feel pain and discomfort.

[Ulysses G.]

I wish that meat was not so tasty. It would be a lot easier to give it up.

[craigt3365]

One post negative towards Thais has been removed from view.

[jsflynn603]

If you can find it ,a most interesting show on abattoirs in Indonesia , was on "4 corners". a.b.c.t.v. last week. (australia) .Not pigs, this one is about cattle.Caused quite a kerfufle !!

I believe that resulted in the cessation of all cattle export to Indonesia. The video was sad to see, yet I agree, the pigs react just about the way you and I would....

There are humane methods that are really not very difficult to use.

At least chickens often get revenge. If the slaughterer's break their necks to kill them often they eventually develop a painful ergonomic disorder called "gamehandler's thumb" caused by damage to the tendons of the thumb caused by repetitive overuse.

Perhaps the pole poker's at the abattoir will come back in the next life as pigs.

[Lizard2010]

If you think this was cruel to PIGS.

See this video of how they treat CATTLE from OZ.

VIDEO

Very sad

Edited June 14, 2011 by Lizard2010

[trainman34014]

It's a sad fact that 'Third World' or 'Developing' countries treat animals badly and such things have been highlighted on many occasions on TV documentaries, particularly in the West, where we tend to take animal care and handling as a serious matter. I don't think we can assume that things will improve much unless some form of pressure is applied from outside such as has happened from Australia recently in the case of the Indonesian cattle debacle.

Can we really expect people who don't even know how to treat their own offspring properly to treat animals with respect? Example....letting 10 and 12 year old kids ride around on Motorbikes without helmets or even tuition, and quite often with up to 4 on a bike, or making child labour's work for many gruelling hours to feed families etc. Until such people learn to treat other Humans with respect and compassion; which will be a long time coming, we cannot expect them to care about the rights of animals.

[PlanetX]

But you all still eat pork right?

Exactly, Its not that bad a scene that they will give it up

I am pretty sure that most people have not taken a field trip to the slaughterhouse

[JimmyTheMook]

But you all still eat pork right?

I got kicked out of Yeshiva for taking a ham sandwich to lunch.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Having had real farm experience I can say pigs are definitely loud and sometimes quite dangerous.

If you have never been around pigs you might think their squealing is abnormal but they are just naturally loud and as a child I was terrified of them. Some will eat anything and I mean anything including live animals and humans. Organized crime has used this to cover up countless murders. Just throw the body in the pig pen and no more evidence.

The babies are cute and if raised separately can be good pets but pigs competing for food are dam_n scary. Not every pig is mean but there are definitely some that are very aggressive and dangerous by nature. No sorry not because they are treated badly. Some are just mean as hell.

Even though they are domesticated if a pig is let into the wild in only a few months they grow thick wild boar hair in short order and act like wild boars.... Any of you animal lovers want to curl up and pet a wild boar? I don't think so.

Their size and strength combined with some being very mean causes workers to want to stay the heck away from them and use sticks etc to keep distance.

I am all about humane treatment of animals and re establishing their natural diets to make them healthier but if you think pigs are harmless and docile then your real world knowledge is pretty shaky at best.

Edited June 14, 2011 by CobraSnakeNecktie

[cmsally]

I grew up on a farm and I must say pigs are about the only animal I could not feel sorry for. They are pretty mean and bring back memories of steel toe capped boots. They are probably the only farm animal that would eat you alive if you fell unconscious in their enclosure.

Having said that, the humane treatment of animals is important but if you eat meat you have to realise somewhere along the line that there is somewhat of an irony in wanting them treated with kid gloves and then eating them.

[afarang]

If you think this was cruel to PIGS.

See this video of how they treat CATTLE from OZ.

VIDEO

Very sad

I hope people will understand, that this is live cattle exported from Oz., NOT killed in Oz., killed in Indonesia.

[lanna2011]

But you all still eat pork right?

nope - I have been veggie for 37 years - it is a disgrace and shame on them calling themselves 'Buddhist'

[SwaziBird]

If you think this was cruel to PIGS.

See this video of how they treat CATTLE from OZ.

VIDEO

Very sad

Hi Lizard 2010. Don't know whether to thank you or not for giving us that video link. It certainly prompted me to send off an urgent request to the Oz Govt to turn their temporary ban of live exports into a permanent one. Clearly, certain types don't give a dam_n about inflicting suffering on animals. Makes one shudder. Nothing less than torture. Whether the animal is otherwise docile or potentially vicious, inhumane treatment is just unacceptable. Just no excusing these people.

Thanks for spoiling my day in a positive sort of way. OP, thanks for raising our awareness.

Cheers.

Edited June 14, 2011 by SwaziBird

[jsflynn603]

Having had real farm experience I can say pigs are definitely loud and sometimes quite dangerous.

Agreed. Any person who raises pigs knows, or ought to know that if you accidentally get knocked unconscious in an area with pigs, well, they'll do what they do with anything edible....

Though the pig will definitely not poke or prod you with metal sticks or keep you in a small cage before they eat you...

Yes pigs, dogs and uh....wives(or husbands--readers' choice) can be very dangerous--it still doesn't excuse maltreatment.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Having had real farm experience I can say pigs are definitely loud and sometimes quite dangerous.

Agreed. Any person who raises pigs knows, or ought to know that if you accidentally get knocked unconscious in an area with pigs, well, they'll do what they do with anything edible....

Though the pig will definitely not poke or prod you with metal sticks or keep you in a small cage before they eat you...

Yes pigs, dogs and uh....wives(or husbands--readers' choice) can be very dangerous--it still doesn't excuse maltreatment.

That's kind of an apples and oranges comparison. A mature hog can easily be 150 kg+. If your dog or wife is that big then yeah you might have some comparable safety issues.

If you think you can defend yourself against a large pig then you have a future in the UFC and mixed martial arts.

These workers aren't getting paid a lot. They have surely seen other workers and pigs viciously mauled then there isn't any incentive to stick your hands or feet anywhere near their mouths.

This is a pretty common theme. People use logic like. If I was a chicken I wouldn't want to live in a small cubby hole. The problem with this logic is that birds really prefer small protected spaces because it makes them feel safe. Birds are wired to avoid open spaces because that's when they are typically harvested by predators....

Ever hear the phrase "Birds of a feather flock together"? They find safety in crowds and avoiding open spaces. Producers find the cubbyholes and cramp conditions produce a less stressed animal.

So generally the logic of thinking that animals should be treated like humans is fundamentally flawed.

[QED]

But you all still eat pork right?

I got kicked out of Yeshiva for taking a ham sandwich to lunch.

Haha, you weren't the one putting ham in the shoes outside the mosque in the UK were you?

[james24]

Th OP is right. Unfortunately, pigs are FAR smarter than other lifestock. Cattle are dumb, chickens are dumb, sheep are dumb, but pigs are smart. I've been told they are smarter than dogs and will make good pets. Unfortunately for the pig is they are also tastey. As a hunter, my friends and I try to kill our game quickly and humainly... even though it doesn't always happen. For the most part, animals do not have the capacity to worry about the future. They live in the now. But, they DO feel pain and discomfort.

Cattle arent dumb, thats why they started to stun them before slaughter as they knew what was coming.

I think animals think about the future more than you're giving them credit for. The whole process of reproduction, the whole maternal instinct many animals have shows this.

Edited June 14, 2011 by james24

[skybluestu]

[mrclough]

Instead of piling them up in trucks where they struggle to breathe etc, would it be better to kill them at the pig farm first so you could just stack them like sacks of potatoes? There's no dis-comfort in that, surely?

[afarang]

The lack of refrigeration,. That is the problem. In all Asian countries ,they kill every morning, sell the same day. This is the real reason for the live animal trade. Here, in our local Monday(big-once a week) market ,the pork isn't even on ice.As the majority of Indonesians do not eat pork, they rely on Live Cattle being imported and slaughtered locally

[cheshiregent]

i think most of us that have lived in thailand have come to learn that thais have very little or no compassion for animals

tiger temples elephants walking the streets and so on the way they slaughter animals is very cruel it also has an effect of the taste of the meat

when an animal is under stress and can see or hear animals being slaughtered it has a rush of adrenalin which taints the meat

its called dark cutting the only way thais will ever change there slaughter methods is if they learn that they can get a good price for export if they kill

in a humane way as the quality of the meat will be better as always thais only do what profits them so hers hoping they learn this fact

but i wont hold my breath

[IanForbes]

I grew up on a farm and I must say pigs are about the only animal I could not feel sorry for. They are pretty mean and bring back memories of steel toe capped boots. They are probably the only farm animal that would eat you alive if you fell unconscious in their enclosure.

Having said that, the humane treatment of animals is important but if you eat meat you have to realise somewhere along the line that there is somewhat of an irony in wanting them treated with kid gloves and then eating them.

Ah, surely you can't be talking about this cute, cuddly little critter...

[james24]

I grew up on a farm and I must say pigs are about the only animal I could not feel sorry for. They are pretty mean and bring back memories of steel toe capped boots. They are probably the only farm animal that would eat you alive if you fell unconscious in their enclosure.

Having said that, the humane treatment of animals is important but if you eat meat you have to realise somewhere along the line that there is somewhat of an irony in wanting them treated with kid gloves and then eating them.

Ah, surely you can't be talking about this cute, cuddly little critter...

I just watched a doc on those hunting holidays you can do in S.Africa. You can shoot whatever animal you want for the right price. The guys do it because it gives them a sense of achievement or power they said. I personally think it does quite the opposite, its like someone who sleeps with hundreds of hookers calling themselves a playboy.

[fritter1970]

I love the Thai people but I have to admit that I have often dreaded the thought of how the meat I eat arrived at my plate.

I remember some years ago there were some farang protesting in Bangkok about the treatment of such animals. When they interviewed the Thais about the protest they were utterly confused and said things like, "I do not understand why these farang are protesting for the rights of stupid animals?"

Unfortunately there seems to be a huge gulf between the thoughts of most farang and most Thais on this issue.

I just hope that as countries such as Thailand get wealthier such abusive practices get rarer.

[IanForbes]

I just watched a doc on those hunting holidays you can do in S.Africa. You can shoot whatever animal you want for the right price. The guys do it because it gives them a sense of achievement or power they said. I personally think it does quite the opposite, its like someone who sleeps with hundreds of hookers calling themselves a playboy.

I would agree with you on some of the guided hunts. But, it is a form of culling that keeps the game herds in check so they don't upset the natural balance between game supply and what the environment can support. The culling done by big game hunters is a method of bringing in money to pay for the over all protection of the game and the environment. Every area can only support so many animals and it has to be kept in balance.

On your other comment about hookers and playboys it is YOUR personal bias that is showing. Men who sleep with hundreds of hookers do so because they have both the virility and money to do so, and the desire for variety. It is a win-win situation between the parties involved. The term "playboy" is an assumption based on questionable propaganda. Women chase after men with good looks, power and money. Men who can do so take advantage of the opportunities presented to them. Then, there are all the self righteous, hypocritical men who wish they had the same opportunities, and become bitter because they can't do so because of their personal failings. REAL men don't care what other men do. They just take care of their own needs and the needs of their immediate family.