Pigs are the fourth most intelligent animal on Earth. They are highly maternal animals, forming strong and often lifelong bonds with their children and with other pigs. They love to play, roll in the mud to prevent their skin from burning, and root around in the grass and dirt to hunt for food. Because of their high intelligence, pigs need a lot of mental stimulation to keep them busy. They love puzzles, and they even enjoy learning tricks like dogs. But, despite how similar they are to our wonderful canine companions, the majority of people will gladly pay for their horrific abuse and murder. Pigs in the pork industry live in extremely cruel conditions. They live in filth with no space to move about and without any mental stimulation. Mother pigs live in farrowing crates that are so small that they can only take a single step forward and a single step backward. The mother pigs are forced to sit helplessly as their children fall ill and die. After her children’s death, she will sleep next to her dead child until the farmer comes to collect their bodies. Within only days of birth, piglets have holes punched into their ears, their testicles are ripped out, their teeth cut out, and their tails cut off. All of this is done without anesthetic. Pigs will be allowed to grow until they are around six months old. They will then be herded into an overcrowded transport truck and sent to the slaughterhouse. Pigs don’t have fur, which means that they aren’t protected from the elements in the same way that other animals are. No matter the weather, pigs will be packed onto trucks and sent to die. In the winter, they often get frostbite. In the summer, the intense heat can cause extreme heatstroke. And, once they reach the slaughterhouse, they will be shoved into a gas chamber one by one, and they will burn from the inside out, dying slowly. But, it doesn’t need to be this way. Watch “Lucent” on YouTube to learn the truth. Watch “Cowspiracy” and “What the Health” on Netflix to understand. The industry relies on secrecy to stay afloat, but we as the consumer have the ability to take the power back and stop promoting such horrific abuse. We as consumers can end the suffering of animals.