[Ed. Note: See 13,200 Pigs Are Slaughtered Per Hour, an animated
depiction of the number of pigs slaughtered, just in the U.S.]
Diary kept for 73 days by a Mercy for Animals undercover
investigator working in a pig "factory." Every day, the workers
castrate and tail dock between 100 and 500 piglets. This is done
by grabbing a piglet out of the crate by his leg, holding him
upside down, slicing open his scrotum with a scalpel, and
tearing out the testes with their bare hands. Tails are then
docked by clipping them at the base with a dull set of pliers.
The pigs struggle and squeal violently; it appears to be
extremely painful, and no anesthesia is issued. Commonly during
castration, a male pig's intestines will rupture, falling out of
the incision. This is usually not immediately noticed, but when
it is the pig is brought to the gas cart and suffocated to
death. Pigs that are too small are brought to the "death cart."
Pigs gather here throughout the day until there are enough to
economically justify using the