Manitoba’s industrial hog production model is built on practices that disregard animal welfare subjecting pigs to cruelty, a lack of concern for environmental sustainability, and indifference to human health threats. While these concerns may seem radical and unfounded, the facts are clear.
Animal Welfare
- Pigs are raised in harsh, cramped conditions. They live on slatted floors over pits of their own waste, breathing toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, methane, and carbon dioxide. These gases are deadly; if ventilation systems fail, pigs can suffocate within hours. Even when ventilation works, harmful gases are released into nearby areas, affecting the health of local residents.
- Mother pigs, or sows, suffer even more. They are confined to stalls so small they cannot turn around. Forced to live in these conditions, they eat, sleep, and relieve themselves in the same tiny space. Despite promises from Canadian hog producers to phase out these stalls by 2024, they have delayed the deadline to 2029, showing little commitment to improving animal welfare.
Environmental Sustainability
- Regulations in Manitoba allow for 5 times as much manure to be applied to a field as any crop can use as fertilizer in one year. The producer is not supposed to re-apply to that field for another 5 years but what happens to the excess nutrients, phosphorus and nitrogen, for the intervening 4 years? Excess phosphorus and nitrogen don’t stay in the soil. They often run off during rainstorms and snowmelt, eventually reaching rivers and lakes, including our beloved Lake Winnipeg.
- Phosphorus and nitrogen feed toxic blue-green algae, which has been growing in Lake Winnipeg since the 1990s. Scientists have found that 35% of phosphorus entering Lake Winnipeg from Manitoba comes from agriculture, compared to only 12% from the city of Winnipeg. The rise in phosphorus levels has directly contributed to the harmful algae blooms.
- In 2007, the Clean Environment Commission called for a review of Manitoba’s manure application rules after five years. Seventeen years later, that review has yet to happen.
Human Health Risks
- Pigs in factory farms are given antibiotics to survive their cramped, unhealthy conditions. This overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance, a growing threat to human health.
- A study by World Animal Protection found antibiotic-resistant genes in ditches near eight pig farms in Manitoba. These genes pose a serious threat to public health, increasing the risk of infections that are difficult to treat.
- A review by the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health (NCCEH) found that people living near hog farms report a range of health problems, including respiratory issues, nausea, and sinus problems.
Hog Watch Manitoba’s Call to Action
- Hog Watch Manitoba is calling for a phase-out of factory-style barns within the next five years. Pigs should be raised in more humane conditions, on straw, with access to the outdoors. Antibiotics should no longer be routinely used in feed, and manure application rules must be updated to reflect the actual nutrient needs of crops.
- The government should also stop subsidizing industrial hog facilities and provide support for farmers who want to adopt more sustainable, humane farming methods.
- Animals, farm workers, nearby communities, and our lakes will all benefit from these changes. Manitoba can take pride in shifting away from the harms of industrial hog farming, leading the way toward a more humane, ethical, and sustainable approach to raising pigs.
What You Can Do
- You can make a difference by spreading the word. Talk to your family and friends about the impacts of industrial hog production. By raising awareness, we can change public opinion and pressure politicians to change the laws and regulations governing the industry, moving Manitoba toward more ethical and sustainable farming practices.
- We need your support to bring these changes to the forefront. Join us in pushing for a more sustainable and humane hog industry. We must act now to protect our waterways and ensure a safe, healthy environment for future generations. Together, we can make a difference.