Pigs Part 1: Life on an RSPCA Assured Pig Farm | Welly Vision

If you eat sausages, ham or bacon, have you ever wondered where that meat actually comes from? Well, to find out, I'm here at this RSPCA-assured pig farm in Norfolk to find out how pork is produced in the UK and what the labels on packaging actually mean. There are currently around 10,500 pig farms in the UK, of which 26% of farm pigs are certified by RSPCA-assured. These farms follow strict welfare rules set by the RSPCA to ensure their animals have a better life. So, Tim, talk me through a day in the life of Tim. What time does it start? Well this time of year in the summer, we'll start early because pigs are not very good in the heat, given all their daily food. It's just like getting the kids ready for school, you know, come on guys, we've got to feed, we've got to get them dressed and ready to go about your day. And how long have you been farming pigs? All my working life and from a child, I'm the fourth generation on this farm, grew up with them really. So, Tim, what's special about this farm? Well, clearly, without one mistake, obviously you can see we're an outdoor unit. Some units are indoors, keep pigs in sheds all year round. We're outside here 365 days of the year in all weathers, but the pigs are completely at home out here and they love it. And then obviously the piglets are weaned and they stay outdoors. We're outdoors the whole of life, right through their cycle. They don't ever see an inside of a shed anywhere. And is that your choice? Yes, it is. Based on welfare? It is our choice. You have to have the right land type for outdoor pigs. We're very light, free draining soil here. And you also need access to plenty of straw to use in your huts and things. So, it's got to be mechanically right as well. But yeah, definitely this is the, in my view, the nicest way to keep them. They're just doing their natural thing. As you can see here, they're wandering around, chewing a bit of grass or just laying about in the straw, contemplating pig things. Not all RSPCA Assured certified pig farms are completely outdoor, like Tim's. Many use a mix of higher welfare indoor and outdoor systems. So, what does it mean for you to be RSPCA Assured? The most beautiful thing for us guys as pig farmers is that there's a very visible and easy sticker in the simplest terms for the consumers. They see that sticker on the packet when they pick it up from the supermarket or their local butcher. And they should have confidence in knowing that the pig has been looked after well and given a good, wholesome life. And what does that mean in welfare terms on this farm? The RSPCA issue guidelines and rules to tell me what the stocking densities are, what the space requirements are for the huts, feeding troughs. They are really rigorous. It's quite a long process getting certified. These are just some of the RSPCA standards for pig farms. The other thing that we do, which we have to ask the RSPCA permission for via our vets, is to use what we call nose rings on the mother sows. But the benefit of that for us is it restricts the, it doesn't stop, it just controls the deep rooting up of the ground. Pigs will root down a foot, 18 inches. They're quite strong with their noses. So the nose rings are designed to allow them to do their usual behaviour, but not to an extent where they can make such a mess of the field and the paddocks that they then cause problems for the unborn babies. Because if there's loads of hills and holes in that hut, the piglets will roll down into the hole and then they can get laid on and get trapped. So we need a nice level bed. So have you got any of these sows actually having... We certainly do. We are farrowing, which is the giving birth process, every two weeks in a batch and right throughout the year, 12 months a year. So it's not like sheep and cattle which will just carve or lamb once a year. So yeah, we can go and look at some now if you like. Let's go. Lead the way. Okay Kate, so we've now moved up into what we call the farrowing area, which is like the maternity area of the unit. There's one sow, there's a one farrowing arc and sow in each pen. The mum can pop in and out of the hut as she feels, go and feed and drink at the station over there and then pop in and feed the piglets. 60% of farmed female breeding pigs are kept in farrowing crates for up to five weeks around the time of giving birth. This can cause the animals significant stress and physical discomfort. RSPCA strictly prohibits the use of farrowing crates. So how much influence does RSPCA Assured have on your pigs from start to finish? Yeah, huge influence and they're watching and checking and monitoring everything we do and it's a live conversation and it's a partnership really and they're trying to keep us on the right path and show us new techniques and things and as an industry we have to embrace that and move forward. Following my chat with farmer Tim, I want to delve a bit deeper into the issues around pig farming in the UK and what role RSPCA Assured plays in addressing them. To answer my questions, I'm going to talk with RSPCA Assured's Head of Farming, Jo Bailey. So Jo, what exactly is RSPCA Assured? So RSPCA Assured is the RSPCA's Farm Assurance and Food Labelling Scheme. How is the RSPCA Assured funded? Who pays for it? So each member will pay a fee which covers the assessor coming out every year. It means that that farm can then be certified as RSPCA Assured. Whoever is selling the end product can use the logo on the packet, they will pay a licence fee for using that logo. Why is the RSPCA interested in farming? The majority of people use, eat, consume animal products and therefore we can't just neglect or ignore animals that are farmed. We want to do the very best we can to rear them to high welfare standards and give consumers who are going in to buy meat a higher welfare choice. RSPCA is concerned about the welfare of all animals and those farmed for food are no exception. And so what kind of changes do you bring into effect? On our scheme, on an RSPCA Assured farm, we have a comprehensive list of standards that highly trained, highly compassionate assessors come out to check. Things like the housing, the bedding, the veterinary care that the pigs are having. But what we also do is we look at the input, so we look at the effect those inputs are having on the pigs' welfare and their behaviour. Why is that important for a pig? They're a sentient being just like we are and they need to be able to exhibit their natural behaviour. What are your policies around slaughter? We permit certain methods of slaughter all have to include stunning, so every animal has to be pre-stunned before slaughter. So when you go into the supermarket, it's quite easy to be bamboozled by all the labels that you might see on pork products. Outdoor bread, free range, what do all those different labels mean? Outdoor bread means that the sows are outside and they give birth outside. Then about four weeks old when the piglets are weaned, they move inside into the rearing and then finishing units. If it's outdoor reared, they're born outside and then about 10 weeks old, they are then taken into a finishing unit. These pigs are actually outdoor bred and outdoor reared and they will be finished outside here as well. Free range means they're free range their entire lives. They're born outside and then they'll stay outside. Indoor is they're born indoor and they stay indoor in barns. And does your scheme certify all of those different types of pork? All of the systems have to be higher welfare, so even those pigs that are indoors would have to meet all of the indoor standards. So what what happens on the ground? What do you do? Well, while we're here, should we go in and have a have a quick look around at what an assessor would see? Yeah, let's do it. So on an audit, an assessor would be looking at things like the feeders, looking to see that there is one space per 10 pigs, that they're weatherproof and that they're bird proof. As they're walking around, they'd be looking at what's on the ground, the enrichment, this lovely straw here that they can root around in and play around in. And then be looking at the drinkers to make sure there's not too much leakage, there's plenty of water, fresh water coming out and that there's enough for the amount of pigs that are in here. And we just have a look inside, they've got some nice straw bales in there that they're leaning against. When we look at welfare outcomes, we're looking at the pigs themselves so that we can assess whether the impact that these standards have on the pigs themselves and on their behaviour. They're not fighting, they're not aggressive, they're not lame, they're just purely playing. So as far as you're concerned, these pigs here are exhibiting very natural behaviours. Absolutely. Running around, interacting with each other, being inquisitive with us. They're very intelligent animals, aren't they? Amazingly intelligent. Clearly, when it comes to eating pork, there are difficult ethical issues to consider. So whether you eat meat or perhaps you're trying to eat less meat, hopefully now you can make a more informed choice. For more information, go to rspcaassured.org.uk