The Brooke is one of ours as well Aka.

I have to confess I don't look at anything like that. If it's on the news I turn over. If it's in the post the wife opens it and then we sign any petitions. Humans I am far less moved by because we bring so much of it on ourselves but seeing animals and especially sentient ones capable of love and affection in pain or treated badly by mankind is too much for me.

Both petitions signed, keep up the good work Kenny.

ttt one last time, in the slim hope that there's some compassionate people about.

Thanks triby.

Here´s another one for dogs:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/734/492/239/stop-the-summer-solstice-june-21st-dog-meat-festival-yulin-/?taf_id=11481698&cid=fb_na

Wow, that wasn't my petition, TiptheOdds but great news nevertheless.

the mass production of meat whereby animals are kept in diabolical conditions is one of the biggest moral dilemma's facing the world. this meat should not be eaten.

please sign my petition

www.stopcastratingracehorsesforthebenefitoffilthyarbers.org/petition

Nothing wrong with a bit of filthy arbing, Fishwick!

Kenny , If every pig we need to eat was reared under the conditions you desire ie free range ,there would be no countryside left ,the amount of damage pigs do to the ground is immense ,they need to be moved onto fresh ground regularly ,the condition of the ground they leave behind is poor ,its simply not feasible .
You want pigs to be reared on non slatted floors in the belief it will improve their existence but i am not so sure its well founded ,the slated floor allows the pig waste to be kept off the animals ,its much more hygienic and allows the removal of what is a highly toxic substance which must be contained and treated and kept out the watercourse .
The addition of straw would allow pig **** to be ingested by the animals and increase disease risk  ,also it would offer harbourage to pests like fleas ect and allow rodents to cover ect 
It is not possible to give the conditions you desire for these animals mainly on the cost issue ,what has happened with intensive livestock rearing in the uk is that due to so many regualtions and animal rights issues the UK pig herds are not profitable ,the EU in its wisdom decided to encourage intensive farming of all kinds to be moved into eastern Europe ,mainly on the reasons of little to no regulations on how they can be housed ,fed ,what chemicals and medicines can be used and the use of very cheap labour .
The entire EU Agricultural common policy is designed to use cheap labour and circumnavigate high costly  food production standards in places like the UK ,again a lot of it due to animal rights pressure ,bans on what can and cannot be used ,restrictions on sow cages ect ect ect .
In the Uk  the amount of animals (pigs) slaughtered each year  is just  10m , no where near  enough ,the constant drive for cheap pork (supermarkets) means we need cheaply reared and produced from Europe ,every time the restrictions increase more animal production is moved to eastern Europe ,where as i have stated labour is cheap and restrictions on animal husbandry and welfare are zero ,never mind the use of drugs ,chemicals ect not to mention what they are actually being fed ,so the more restrictions you add overall the conditions of the pig decrease and  home produced product becomes uneconomical ,the big pig breeders in the uk have been in trouble for ages ,no money in it .
The EU has a lot to answer for ,am not a big bacon fan myself and try and buy British bacon whenever poss but its getting harder and harder ,a used to know a guy who was involved in pig rearing many moons ago and some of the things he told me put me off bacon ,like the way they feed the pigs salt and take there water away and then reintroduce just before slaughter ,the poor buggers drink like fish massively increasing there weight before slaughter ,thats why when you put the bacon under the grill or in the pan all that crap comes out ,water and **** .A always try and buy a dry cured rindless but tbh its not very good for you the old pig and best left alone ,as are most pork products unless you are buying quality stuff ,lets be honest here who really trusts free range labeling ?  its all bollucks and i blame the EU's common agricultural policy for most of it ,but once its non profitable to raise stock here due to restrictions it will all be coming from further and further afield ,well out of sight and beyond control ,fed crap and kept alive with all sorts of  drugs ect ....its a vicious circle .Not easy but overall a bad idea imo ,in the picture you show i dont see anything wrong ,in fact it has sunlight which most pigs will never see ,they are meat  not pets and not to confused with humans .HTH .

PS . A cant be arsed reading that through so may make little sense in parts ,cheers

Well, I've read your post b@b, and quite frankly, I'm not qualified to answer some of of the points although have an opinion on  a few, particularly the fact that the pigs have sunlight.  I'm pretty sure that they'd be happier in mud with some foliage to play around with. They look bored as feck    and it's totally unnatural, for them. Cruel in fact, but not as cruel as sow stalls. And they maybe meat not pets to most people, but I don't eat meat and think they would be wonderful pets. Highly intelligent animals. Anyway I'm interested in how CIWF will answer your other points so I've forwarded your post onto them. Will probably take them a few days but I WILL post  it in here. Thanks for your reply.

who the hell is the CIWF  bye the way

Well it hasn't left my  outbox yet so I'll cancel it. I'm not bothered about doing any research about how everything affects this and that.For a start, I couldn't give a feck and I don't have bloody time. All I'm bothered about is wheter we as a country are bgeing cruel and we are in this instance.

who the hell is the CIWF  bye the way Grin

It's Compassion In World Farming. Why not join, I think you need some?

Let's tackle the slatted floors first.

Slatted floors are indeed used for the ease in removal of faeces and urine from intensive pig housing units. However many studies have shown the welfare benefits for pigs when they reared on non slatted systems.



The welfare of pigs housed on barren slatted floors is known to be compromised by a number of issues.  Pig’s feet can develop cracks from walking on slats, which then can become infected, eventually leading to lameness. Indeed, lameness has been reported to be 2.4 times higher on slatted flooring in comparison to deep bed systems.  Bursitis (swelling of the hock joint) is also prevalent in slatted systems.



However, the key problem with slatted floors is the difficulty in some systems, due to inadequate design of slurry systems,  of providing sufficient straw to provide both for the welfare needs of pigs. The provision of materials such as straw is also required by UK and EU legislation. The availability of straw in pig housing is known to substantially reduce conflict and cannibalism. Without the presence of bedding materials, biting and chewing behaviours are often redirected to other pigs and objects. This in turn induces tail biting, which is not only a serious welfare concern, but also a contributing factor to great economic loss.  Although tail docking can reduce tail biting behaviour, this painful procedure addresses the symptom of the problem, not the cause.  Deep bed systems, where layers of fibrous material make up the substrate of pig housing, have replaced slatted floors with success in many places. The substrate of deep bedding absorbs the waste from pigs and ammonia emissions are reduced by 50% in comparison with slatted floor systems. Therefore slatted floors are neither a necessity nor the only option for indoor pig production systems.   



Economically, the difference between fully slatted and Freedom Food systems are marginal. Outdoor pig rearing in the UK is on the rise, as the cost of housing and new emission standards have influenced farmers to adopt free-range farming practices. This in turn is creating the opportunity for free range farming to prosper and supply an increasing number of consumers, who are willing to pay extra, with higher welfare animal products

Is that ok breadnbutter? A lot of bloody work gone into that research, but at least I'm better informed now.

No it's not copy and bloody paste

as long as you're satisfied.

I think the pass level is 4.5

Intelligent creatures, and very friendly. Make good pets.Such a shame so many selfish people in this world.

good for her Joel.