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African swine fever: Why pig farmers don't deserve our sympathy

2020-09-17T12:50:15.165Z


Is there something good to be gained from the outbreak of African swine fever in Germany? Yes. The epidemic could be the reason to finally end industrial factory farming.


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Pigsty in Osnabrück: Anyone who does that is a bad person

Photo: Fritz Rupenkamp / Countrypixel / imago images

The auto industry is already on the verge of being hit by Dieselgate, ever stricter CO2 limits and the corona crisis.

And now it's the next successful branch of the German export industry to the collar: the pig farmers.

Last week, the mostly fatal African swine fever for wild and domestic pigs broke out in Germany.

Several infected wild boar carcasses were found in Brandenburg.

China, South Korea and Japan have already imposed import bans.

This is a disaster for the German pig farmers.

Do the workers in this industry, who are still euphemistically called "farmers" by many, deserve our condolences?

You can spontaneously say yes - but just as quickly deny it again if you just read the latest press release from the "German Animal Welfare Office".

The activists report on video recordings from a pig farm in Sustrum in the Emsland region, which show how tightly packed pigs have to stand in their own droppings, and how many of the animals have "untreated, bloody injuries" in some cases.

"Huge tumors and abscesses" can be seen.

Torture with intent

Sometimes the animals could only hobble.

Dead animals can also be seen among the living animals.

During the two nights documented by the animal rights activists, the operator "apparently deliberately" turned off the drinking water, a method that is allegedly "popular, albeit legally forbidden, among pig fatteners, so that the animals can eat high-calorie mash more quickly the next morning".

The animal rights activists have filed criminal charges against the company.

This shows once again that pigs have been tortured in industrial factory farming for years, with intent and tolerated by the public.

After every new scandal, the keeping conditions are discussed for a few days, but there is hardly any improvement in the stables.

The profit of conventional pig breeding is still based on a regime of terror for the animals.

Anyone who creates a system of exploitation for highly intelligent living beings in order to enrich themselves personally cannot hope for human compassion in economic emergencies.

Anyone who does that is a bad person.

That's an old-fashioned way of describing things.

But morals and ethics must not always be the last categories on which we act.

The pig would like to live differently, there is not the slightest doubt about that.

We should stop defending the conventional bratwurst

To avoid any misunderstandings: I eat pork.

I think it's okay when pigs are slaughtered and enjoyed by people as chops with onion and cream sauce.

But they must first be allowed to live a life that meets high ethical and animal rights standards.

All those who read this text with a nod of their head should therefore be told: We are all responsible for the mess.

Those who demand better pig lives have to pay more money for their meat and buy less of it.

It is high time to allow yourself this luxury.

The proportion of organic meat in Germany is still less than two percent. 

Swine fever is now an opportunity to pause and question your own eating habits.

It is time to stop defending the conventionally produced bratwurst.

I also wish the pig keepers a possibly beneficial break.

Perhaps it is time to move to a more ethical stance.

Organic farmers tell me that the result can be higher added value.

You can sleep better then.

Icon: The mirror

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2020-09-17

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