There are millions of farm animals in Quebec. They surround us and feed us, and yet we know very little about their living conditions. After collecting testimonies from producers, animal rights defenders and experts, The duty invites you to discover the life cycle of Quebec’s main farm animals, from their birth to the slaughterhouse, as well as the resulting concerns with regard to animal welfare. Note that all the practices mentioned are authorized by the codes of practice governing animal husbandry in Canada. Today: pigs.
Every year, approximately 6.8 million hogs from some 1,500 farms are slaughtered in Quebec. Two-thirds of this production goes abroad, which makes pork the most exported Quebec biofood product. One of the most contested practices in the industry, consisting of placing pregnant sows in individual cages that prevent them from moving, is still present in approximately 45% of Quebec producers. But this practice is gradually giving way to group breeding. Spotlight on the life cycle of pigs in Quebec.
The millions of piglets born each year in Quebec spend their first weeks of life with their mother to be breastfed and thus develop their antibodies, says Yvan Fréchette, first vice-president of Éleveurs de porcs du Québec and owner of 600 sows in the Center. -of Quebec.
When they are between three and seven days old, the piglets are castrated. A necessary procedure to guarantee the quality and good taste of the meat, argues the producer. But a practice that creates the ire of animal rights organizations since the castration is carried out without anesthesia.
To castrate piglets, producers or their employees administer a painkiller to the animal while they make an incision on each of its testicles, then pull them out and remove them. “It is sure that it is not the most charming operation to perform”, agrees Yvan Fréchette. But giving all the piglets anesthesia would be much more expensive and would require the presence of a veterinarian, he says. “If one day there is [une méthode qui permet] to further reduce pain at a reasonable cost, Quebec breeders will be listening, that’s for sure,” he says.
tail docking
Also from the first days of life, the piglets’ tails are cut with a hot blade. A procedure called tail docking – aimed at preventing the pigs from biting each other’s tails – again performed without anesthesia, but with the administration of a painkiller. Some producers also cut part of the piglets’ teeth to prevent them from injuring their mother’s teats.
Jamie Dallaire, a professor specializing in animal behavior and well-being in the Department of Animal Sciences at Laval University, points out, however, that breeders, particularly in Europe, manage to raise pigs without cutting their tails. Biting between conspecifics is a redirected exploratory behavior, he explains.
“The pig, ideally, would want to rummage through the straw — an exploratory behavior — it would want to chew on things on the ground to find food,” he says. But in the absence of these stimuli, the animal redirects its attention elsewhere, in this case to the tails of other pigs. And since pigs like the taste of blood, the more the tail is injured, the more they persevere. By reducing sources of stress and allowing pigs to express their natural exploratory behavior, tail docking could be avoided, says Jamie Dallaire.
Pregnant sows
With the exception of organic pigs that go outside, almost all Quebec pigs are raised indoors in buildings that offer them a controlled living environment in terms of food, ventilation, heat, etc.
Although the transition to group breeding has begun, just under half of Quebec farms still raise their pregnant sows in individual stalls. “These cages are the size of their bodies”, indignant Me Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice, an organization made up of lawyers who give a legal voice to animals in Canada. “The sows can stand up, lie down, but not very comfortably, but they can’t turn around, walk or run,” she explains.
Already banned in several European countries, these individual cages will be banned from Canada in 2029 for sows over 28 days of gestation. But group breeding also poses challenges in terms of animal welfare, notes Yvan Fréchette. “Animals have more freedom, but they can bicker, create abortions, injuries,” he says. A new breeding management must therefore be assimilated by the producers making the transition.
Fattening
When they are between three and five weeks old, the piglets are weaned and leave their mother to go to the nursery. Six to seven weeks later, they are sent to fattening, where in 3 to 4 months they reach the market weight set at around 130-135 kilos.
Over the years, genetic improvement (carried out by crossing animals with selected qualities) has increased feed conversion, i.e. the amount of feed needed to produce a unit of weight. . This selection has also resulted in an increase in the number of piglets per litter and in the birth of more robust animals. “Before, a sow could give between 3 and 8 piglets per litter, now she can give between 14 and 18,” says Yvan Fréchette, who points out that these genetic improvements allow “to have the cheapest possible grocery basket “.
When they reach about five months, the pigs are sent for slaughter. As with other farm animals, transport is a particularly stressful stage in their lives. At Olymel, the largest pig slaughterhouse in Quebec, animals are put to sleep and desensitized to CO2 before being bled, resulting in their death. Richard Vigneault, communications manager at Olymel, explains that this method first appeared in the company’s slaughterhouses in 2011 to increase animal welfare, improve the work environment for employees and promote meat quality by reducing stress and injuries in animals.
It was not possible for the To have to to visit a pig barn due to swine flu restrictions.
Tomorrow: broilers