Thursday, February 28, 2008

Welcome to PigAd Blog

Hi. Click on the ad for a bigger version.



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For the short story read this:





Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Factory Farming Films

Animals Australia have posted several videos to the web demonstrating the plight of factory farmed animals. This one deals specifically with pregnant female pigs:

This one is about factory farming in general and is narrated by the front man for Aussie band Kisschasy, Darren Cordeux.

This excellent film from the US details the human as well as animal cost of factory farming as well as providing some thought provoking information on pigs themselves.

The Pig Picture (Part One)

The Pig Picture (Part Two)

Here's an animated series which explains some of the politics and motives behind factory farming, based on the Matrix series.

Part One.

Part two.

Part two and a half.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Just how smart are pigs?

You may have had someone tell you pigs are pretty smart animals. If not, you could be surprised to learn that some think their intelligence rivals that of dogs. In any case, what follows is an interesting link and a video showing a pig in action.

Let's start with the video. This pig is called Mudslinger and you'll hear the trainer saying it's less than a year old. It'd be fairly amazing to see a child of 12 months doing what this animal does, let alone a baby pig.

Penn State University conducted research between 1996 and 1998. They showed that pigs can be taught to maneuver a modified joystick to move a cursor on a video monitor.

For rewards of M&M's, Skittles or Reese's Pieces, the pigs moved the cursor over to a target, then used the cursor to distinguish among scribbles drawn by the researcher's grandchild.

The pigs were shown one scribble, then a few seconds later shown the same scribble along with a second. They used the joystick and cursor to distinguish between the scribble they had seen before and the one they were seeing for the first time.

The pigs learned these tasks within 5 to 10 attempts, "very quickly, as quickly as chimpanzees", said researcher Stanley Curtis, then professor of dairy and animal science and now an adjunct animal sciences professor at the University of Illinois.

For more on this research, click here.

But are pigs smarter than dogs?

Both pigs and dogs are quite smart, says Brenda Coe, adjunct assistant professor of animal science, who helped Curtis in the initial stages of his work and also teaches dog behavior in a canine management class. But "intelligence" in animals is typically defined in a limited way, as the ability to learn what people try to teach them.

The point of discussing pig intelligence is that when you consider that the animal which can distinguish between drawings or learn to push a soccer ball into a goal on command is no different from the one trapped in hellish circumstances in factory farms you're left with an inescapable conclusion: The pigs are smart enough to think, suffer and feel miserable.

We eat factory farmed pork without realising what it truly equates to. The life-long suffering of intelligent, gentle animals.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Massive US meat recall due to mistreatment of animals

Health authorities in the US are conducting a massive recall of beef products in the US due to findings which suggest mistreatment of the animals. The recall represents enough beef to feed every person living in the US two hamburger patties.

Read more here: Beef Recall

Hopefully, this kind of action sends a message to meat industries world-wide. The US is not renowned for adhering to the strictest of standards in animal welfare. If a nation like this is willing to take an action of this kind it demonstrates to meat industries everywhere, including Australia, that there is a real cost in failing to meet minimum standards.

The pork industry in Australia has grown rapidly over the last decade in terms of production capacity. It has done so at the cost of both animal welfare and employment levels. By turning farms into factories you reduce the workforce and mechanise the treatment of living creatures to the point where they are ultimately treated like little more than components in the very machine they inhabit for their miserable lives.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008


Hi. My name is Luke Fox.



The title of this post is similar to the ad's headline.






