If you want to know about animal welfare, ask a farmer
Only two per cent of Canadians are rural farmers, yet this sliver of population feeds the other 98 per cent. At the same time, consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from, while facing a dwindling base of knowledgeable, hands-on farmers. Too often, the public winds up relying on the wrong sources.
The most recent case is that of actor Ryan Gosling, who is spearheading a new animal-rights campaign in Canada targeting pork farmers. Animal liberation groups like Humane Society International have been pressuring pork producers to abandon individual maternity pen housing, which is used for pregnant pigs. Now they’ve got celebrity power to complement their high-volume megaphones.
The one thing they don’t have? Good animal husbandry.
As fewer people have ties to the farm, the public may not understand current science and practices. In the case of pig maternity pens, animal rights activists use manipulative language to call them cruel. But they leave out key facts — namely, why farmers use them and what true experts — not activists — have to say.
Two major U.S. veterinary groups, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, find that maternity pens provide for animal welfare. Individual pens allow for individual feeding and care of the animals.
Consider the alternatives. Farmers could house their animals outdoors on pasture, though Porky probably wouldn’t enjoy Manitoba winters. Farmers could house their animals indoors in a group setting, but pregnant pigs don’t always do well in groups. They’re known to fight for dominance, which can lead to nasty wounds.
This is a far cry from the picture being presented to the public by celebrities like Gosling. Hollywood glam is built around blurring fact and fiction. The popular 1990s movie Babe, for example, exemplifies anthropomorphism — the main character is a little pig that thinks and talks like a human.
While movies are entertaining, they’re not realistic, whether it’s a talking animal, a gun that never needs reloading, or the idea that you’ll be fine jumping through a plate-glass window. In real life, farmers know that pregnant pigs can be anything but cute at times.
Another common tactic is to compare pigs to pets. But they aren’t the same thing. Cats and dogs may loaf about the house and sleep on our laps, but a 400-pound sow is a different animal. Farmers may have 20 animals or 200 animals (or more), and they’re used to produce food, not for companionship.
Good husbandry requires housing that may seem strange to those unfamiliar with agriculture. And it’s the unfamiliarity that allows moneyed activist groups to launch media campaigns that only tell one side of the story.
Farmers and veterinarians who work with these animals know that their welfare has different requirements than that of pets. And Canadians fundamentally support that. Recent public polling finds that, when told the reasons for farmers using individual maternity pens, more than four times as many people are in support (63 per cent) than in opposition (15 per cent).
Being far removed from farms, it’s easy for the average Canadian to fall prey to misinformation campaigns being waged by those with an agenda, a lot of money, and loud voices. When it comes to animal welfare, or other issues on the farm, like crop biotechnology, there’s one thing we should always do: Ask a farmer.