Factory Farming

In the UK alone, approximately 1,000 million animals are slaughtered for food each year. This figure doesn’t include fish, who are killed in such vast numbers that they are counted in tonnes. Most farmed animals are slaughtered at just a few weeks or months old. All these animals will have died a violent death at the slaughterhouse. Intensive, industrialised, factory - they’re all terms that describe modern farming methods. Intensive because as many animals as possible are crammed together in the smallest possible space. Industrialised because feeding, watering and dung clearing are often performed automatically. Factory because the philosophy of mass production is what lies behind it all. Modern intensive farming exists to produce meat, eggs and dairy products as quickly and cheaply as possible. Pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and rabbits are kept in small stalls or cages, with no sunlight or fresh air, and are often unable even to turn around.

To keep production costs down the animals are given the bare minimum they need to survive. Diseases are rife in these conditions and many ailing animals do not receive necessary veterinary attention.