Abstract
This article explores the inception and development of pig factory farming in Ontario, Canada, since the 1950s to date, focusing on animal welfare dimensions. The study showed that although the term “animal welfare” was not well-known until the 1980s, discussions on cruelty and abnormal animal behaviour begun in the early days of factory farms. The article also delves into tensions between the humane movement and the agribusiness sector in Ontario. The article further sheds light on the social context that eventually led to an alliance in support of a conservative, incomplete notion of animal welfare between these former opponents. The article posits that as opposed to supporting the abolition of factory farming, the concept of animal welfare became central to implementing limited reforms in factory farming to convince the public and to marginalize discordant voices while concurrently expanding pig and other animal production worldwide.
Highlights
This article discusses the history of factory farms, focusing on the dimension of animal welfare which is a relatively unexplored aspect of this debate
Through the national pages of the magazine, we found many aspects of and transformations in pig husbandry in Ontario
It is challenging to attempt to define any kind of slaughter of healthy and young animals as “humane” (Visak, 2011; DeGrazia, 2009; Matheny & Chan, 2005). Another example related to pig farming that shows how the OHS popularized the concept of “humaneness” is its’ mention in the 1968-69 Annual Report where it stated that the “tethering of hogs continues to be increasingly common agricultural practice, we have been able to encourage the development of a humane collar for this purpose (Ontario Humane Society, 1968, p. 20).”
Summary
This article discusses the history of factory farms, focusing on the dimension of animal welfare which is a relatively unexplored aspect of this debate. This article that focuses on Ontario, a region in North America suitable to investigate factory farming as a global phenomenon, draws on extensive primary sources of data (agricultural censuses, trade magazines, government reports and the humane movement documents). This Canadian province is a suitable location from which we can understand the origin and the future of factory farms as well as the evolution of the concepts of animal welfare and rights. This emerging trend of larger herds owned by very few producers was a quantitative shift and a qualitative shift accompanied by high-density animal confinement These confinement operations were in turn facilitated by a set of key scientific and technological innovations that allowed pigs to survive in a highly artificial environment. Other scholars have delved into the adoption of these technological innovations, limited scholarly attention has been directed to the relationship between these technologies and pig welfare in a historical perspective (Mayda, 2004; Finlay, 2004; White, Dalrymple & Hume, 2007; Bowley, 2013; Keddie & Wandel, 2001)
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