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Canada’s Pig Industry at a Glance:

  • Canada produces over 25 million pigs every single year.
  • Manitoba is Canada’s largest producer of pigs, breeding and slaughtering roughly 7.7 million pigs each year.
  • This works out to be roughly 15 pigs slaughtered every minute of every day in Manitoba alone.
  • The average pig farm in Manitoba holds over 6,104 pigs.
  • Manitoba also exports live pigs to over 17 countries.
  • Pigs have a lifespan of 15-20 years, however piglets are slaughtered at just 5-6 months of age.
  • Products with ‘local’ or ‘Canadian’ labels are not an indication of high welfare. Pork products sold at all major grocery outlets come from pigs raised in industrialized farms.
  • The World Health Organization has labelled bacon and other processed meats as a level 1 carcinogen, the same classification as cigaretts and asbestos.

Pig Production at a Glance:

The first stage in the life of a market pig begins with gestation (pregnancy). Sows and gilts, (a female pig who has never had a litter before), are impregnated via artificial insemination of semen collected from confined boars. Impregnated females are then moved into gestation crates as a means to protect them from injury. Gestation crates are so restrictive that sows cannot walk, turn around or move more than a step throughout their entire pregnancy.

Sows are pregnant for roughly 115 days (3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days). When ready to give birth, sows are moved to farrowing crates. Farrowing crates have the same design as gestation, except for a small addition on the side for piglets to live. Mother pigs can only stand or lay down, and cannot nuzzle, play or socialize with their babies. Currently, sows birth roughly 12 to 13 piglets per litter, compared to litter sizes of 6-8 piglets from non-domesticated pigs.

Within days of being born, piglets are ‘processed’ by farm workers, meaning they are castrated while awake, they have their needle teeth clipped with pliers, tails docked with , ears notched or stamped with a slap tattoo, and given vitamin injections. None of the above procedures are done with anesthesia. At most, piglets will receive an injection of a Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (similar to Tylenol) for pain. Piglets are then weaned at 3 weeks of age (21 days) and moved to a nursery, or a wean to finish barn, where they continue to grow. Once they are six to eight weeks of age, and weigh 50 – 60 pounds, pigs are once again moved to what’s called a finishing barn to accommodate their growing size. Once piglets are only five to six months of age, they reach market weight of 280 pounds, and are transported to slaughter.

Animal Welfare Concerns:

The Winnipeg Humane Society has several animal welfare concerns related to Canada’s pig farming industry:

  • Once piglets are weaned, female sows are then re-impregnated and sent back to gestation crates to maximize litter frequency. Currently, sows spend the majority of their lives confined in cruel gestation or farrowing crates.
  • Boars confined for the sole purpose of semen collection are also housed in apparatuses similar to gestation crates. The only time boars are permitted out of their crates is to walk up and down the aisles to arouse female sows before impregnation.
  • Once piglet litter size begins to decrease (usually after 6 litters), sows are sent for slaughter for low grade meat.
  • Pigs are one of the most highly intelligent animals on the planet, and yet are denied the most basic levels of welfare like the ability to walk, root, go outdoors, socialize, raise their young, etc. The psychological distress pigs experience in industrialized agriculture is a major welfare concern.
  • Piglets are often housed in groups with little to no enrichment or stimulation to promote healthy welfare.
  • Pigs are never permitted to go outdoors in industrialized farms, and never have the opportunity to root, build nests, mud bathe or act like pigs in any shape or form.
  • Sick piglets or those unable to thrive are killed by being pounded against concrete walls or floors, which is currently an accepted form of ‘euthanasia’ in the hog industry.
  • Pigs are commonly left to live on cold, damp, slatted floors which do not permit use of bedding for comfort. Hard, bare flooring may become slippery, and it increases leg sores and lameness (inability to walk properly).
  • Pigs can be transported for up to 28 hours without rest, food, or water as per Canada’s Health of Animals regulations.
  • There are also no regulations regarding transportation in extreme weather conditions, and pigs continue to be shipped in extreme heat, cold and wind. Many pigs have been documented as dying during transportation from weather related injuries like heatstroke or freezing to death.

HOW YOU CAN HELP MANITOBA’S PIGS:

⇒ Stop your consumption of pork products like bacon, and choose plant-based, cruelty-free alternatives

⇒ Share your pig welfare concerns with your MP and Canada’s Minister of Agriculture, and/or your MLA. You can use this letter template.

⇒ Donate and support the efforts of the Winnipeg Humane Society’s animal advocacy department

⇒ Share your concerns regarding Manitoba’s hog industry with family and friends

⇒ Volunteer with the WHS’ Animal Compassion Team’s public education campaigns

⇒ Visit and support the rescued pigs at one of Manitoba’s many animal sanctuaries


Additional Resources:
WHS 2019 Report on Pig Farming in Manitoba

More information on pig farming in Canada: https://spca.bc.ca/programs-services/farm-animal-programs/farm-animal-production/pigs/

National Farm Animal Care Council’s Codes of Practice for Pigs: https://www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice/pigs

Article –‘Canada’s Pork Industry Keeps Pigs in feces and Filth’ (2022): https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/06/14/opinion/canada-pork-industry-keeps-pigs-feces-and-filth

Dogs and Pigs Video– Mercy for Animals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laGBBGepkaw