Pigs sharing space with corpses of their peers, others with lameness, inflammation or prolapses. This is how the latest images released by Animal Equality show these farm animals. Coinciding with the debate on the state of the European Union, the NGO wanted to denounce the precarious situation in Spanish pig farms, something they consider “a structural problem.”
After several complaints in recent years, Animal Equality has this time chosen five farms in Aragon to support its complaint. Javier Moreno, co-founder of the organization, explains that “we have seen what we have been seeing all these years such as pigs with prolapses, wounds, etc. who do not receive veterinary care.”
Not only that, adds Moreno, but the animals that are suffering “are kept alive because in the end they are going to be taken advantage of.” “This ultimately means that there are many animals that are suffering, that have lameness and that are not going to receive any type of veterinary treatment, but that they are kept that way because in the end it can be economically profitable for the farm. In the end, that animal suffers all its life,” he says.
The lack of veterinary care, Moreno points out, is evidenced by official statistics. “According to ministry data, 11% of pigs die on farms. We are talking about more than 6 million pigs that die on farms because they cannot tolerate the conditions,” he emphasizes.
Added to this situation is the lack of inspections, at the discretion of Animal Equality. “It can take 60 years for a farm to be inspected in Spain,” says Moreno. Animal Equality ensures that inspections to control animal welfare only reached 1.67% of the farms subject to control in 2021, that is, 2,881 farms out of a total of 172,079.
At the European level, measures are being considered to reduce the suffering of animals in industrial farms, such as prohibiting so-called maternity or gestation cages. Moreno points out that Spain should have a clear position in this regard, since they believe that the country has to be “a reference” in the matter.
There are measures that Moreno highlights that could be taken to begin to improve the situation of animals on farms, such as stopping subsidizing the meat industry or promoting the consumption of a diet that has a lower environmental impact, such as vegetables.
“The latest Eurobarometer indicates that more than 90% of citizens are concerned about the situation of animals on farms,” Moreno emphasizes.
