Rooting with their noses
With their strong, sensitive noses, pigs search the soil for scents, food and stimulation. Rooting is not a minor pastime, but an important part of their natural behaviour.
About animal species
Pigs are smart, sensitive and fascinatingly beautiful.
Pigs are curious animals. They explore, play, seek out social contact and use their noses to make sense of the world. Pigs are also remarkably intelligent. Let’s treat them with the respect they deserve.
About pigs.
Mud to cool down
Pigs love to wallow in mud to regulate their body temperature. What we may call dirty is completely natural, clever and comfortable for them.
Playing, learning and exploring
Pigs are inquisitive and social. They want to play, connect with others, make choices and explore their surroundings.
The stark contrast.
What they need
Pigs enjoy basking in the sun, building nests, rooting and playing. They need places to retreat and hide when they are frightened. They also prefer to relieve themselves away from where they sleep.
In the animal industry
In the animal industry, they have barely any opportunity to express their natural behaviour. Separated from their families, they undergo painful procedures. They are then fattened for slaughter and, after only a fraction of their natural lifespan, gassed and killed.
Natural lifespan
15 years
In the animal industry
6 months
Images from the animal industry
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Born into a system
Their lives do not begin in freedom, but in an environment designed around production.
Separated from their mother
Where young animals seek closeness, they are separated early from the bond and comfort they need.
Painful procedures
Tails are docked, piglets are castrated and teeth are clipped, often without anaesthetic, in an effort to reduce injuries caused by stress and overcrowding.
Fattened for slaughter
Their bodies are pushed to grow as quickly as possible towards slaughter.
No economic value
When animals become sick or injured, they are sometimes killed because treatment or recovery is no longer considered economically worthwhile.
Stressful transport
The journey to the slaughterhouse often takes place in cramped trucks, with the risk of heat stress or cold stress.
CO₂ gassing
Many pigs are stunned with CO₂. They can panic and experience severe distress before losing consciousness.
A short life
After about six months, their lives end at the slaughterhouse.
This has to stop.
The number of pigs we kill each year is almost impossible to comprehend. These are individuals, each with their own personality, emotions, unique experience of the world and desire to live.
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An estimate of the number of pigs killed worldwide since you opened this page. This estimate is based on figures of approximately 1.49 billion pigs killed each year
(Our World in Data).
Protect pigs.
Pigs are curious, intelligent, playful and sensitive. When we see them for who they really are, it becomes difficult to reduce their lives to a piece of meat. Let’s leave these beautiful animals in peace by choosing plant-based.
Get startedPhoto credits
- “Born into a system”: Gabriela Penela / We Animals Media
- “Separated from their mother”: Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Media
- “Painful procedures”: Andrew Skowron / We Animals Media
- “No economic value”: Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Media
- “Stressful transport”: Dirk Jan van Mourik / Stichting Plant Beest
- “CO₂ gassing”: Farm Transparency Project
- “Fattened for slaughter”: Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Media for the Guardian
- “A short life”: Gabriela Penela / We Animals Media