Editor:
It was in the news that pigs raised for the pork market on industrial farms in Manitoba are routinely subjected to what anyone would have to admit are cruel practices.
It was sickening to see caged neurotic, bloodied and beaten animals treated so inhumanely in their short lives.
Industrial farming practices are shamefully carried out behind locked doors, while retailers market low prices for these products.
I grew up on a small farm where my parents raised pigs, along with chickens and a few sheep and ducks. Our animals usually ended up on the dinner table, but they had a good life while they were maturing.
Pigs are animals that love to forage with their snouts, play in water –and mud! – and are social and intelligent.
I would like to remind everyone that the meat on your plate comes from a living creature that thinks and feels, and must therefore deserve a life without pain or suffering.
I’m sure we can do better as a society than to just accept current factory farm practices.
The BCSPCA, for instance, has a farm-certification and food-labelling program dedicated to improving farm-animal welfare standards in Canada. You can visit their website and find quality local meat producers listed there.
In the spirit of caring this Christmas, I encourage all to consider a better life for farm animals.
Jacqueline Hohmann, Surrey