The Pig Project 4 - Motherhood

A painting by Philip McCulloch-Downs (acrylic on A4 canvas board) using photos from Viva!'s UK farm investigations 2015/2016 (see below). From Juliet, Viva!'s founder: What breaks through your barriers? I know how important it is to protect ourselves from pain. How else can we get by in a world that callously incarcerates billions of animals and so casually takes their lives? When we know their lives are full of misery and relentless suffering. I know it is a big ask, but I am pleading with you to watch what is happening right now to 90% of British pigs. Now, in 2016. In civilised Britain. Why? Because you can be a part of making change happen. Part of something exciting. You, me, all of us, can force the collapse of the pig industry. We have to. Because no one else will protect these fiercely intelligent creatures from a life of torment. Let me be clear, the government protects the agricultural industry, it will never, like some naïve people believe, end factory farming. The pig industry is in fact more intensive than ever! Did you know that a staggering 99 per cent of pigs reared for meat in Britain are confined indoors? Viva! has exposed about 60 pig farms over the years, little changes – but we have changed people. And when I wrote Pig In Hell in 2001, 16 million pigs were being killed annually, now it is 10 million. Still a bloodbath. But one whose murderous fingers are starting to wither. I very recently investigated a typical pig farm, Necton Hall in Norwich. One of the worst scenes was the sows in ‘rape racks’ which constrained them so tightly they were almost immobilised. Who knows how long they were left here? One female deeply upset me, she still had fight in her. She was trying to escape and I walked to her and tried to soothe her. I bent down talking to her, feeling utterly useless and choked up. Her eyes were a beautiful pale blue and her life so tragic that I named her Blue. Her look will stay with me forever. In another filthy shed, another day, same farm, a young pig was being eaten alive. She tried to escape but couldn’t move her back leg. I find it hard to stop thinking about her. Pigs are sent insane by endless boredom, frustration and deprivation. Yes, we complained to the government. No, they haven’t acted. Farmed animals have almost no legal protection. A few days ago we showed the footage to Bristol people – on iPads in the city centre. A cross range of ages, gender, ethnicities and without exception, were shocked and upset. Many considered changing themselves – to stop buying meat, go vegetarian or vegan. The response was overwhelmingly positive. And this is just the beginning, we’re taking this and other footage across the UK. Good has to come out of bad. My FB friends, please watch me at Necton Hall pig farm and Face Off the pig industry… and then share, share, share. Let’s make this a social media campaign that reaches far and wide. #‎vivafaceoff We’re reaching a tipping point. People are changing. Let’s cripple the meat industry, and help people make the only kind choice. Watch the footage at www.viva.org.uk/faceoff