inunitswithstrawbeddingisprobablydue,atleastinpart,to
the “recreational” effects of the straw.^70
NowwecanseewhytheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture’s
coldrecommendationsaredisgraceful.First,nosuggestionis
made that pigs having their tails cut off should be given
painkillersoranesthetics.Second,thereisnomentionofthe
factthattheneedtodeprivepigsoftheirtailsisanindication
thatthepigsaretoocrowdedordeprivedofstraworanything
elseto attracttheir interest. Theproblemseems to be that
boredpigsgnawatanyattractiveobject,andifgnawingon
thetail of anotherpig should producean injury and draw
blood, some pigs willbe attracted to the blood and begin
bitinginearnest.^71 It isentirelytypicalofthementality of
modernanimalproduction,though,thattheanswerofboth
theDepartmentofAgricultureandofthepigproducersisto
mutilate the animals instead of giving them the living
conditions they need.
Another respect in which confined pigsresemble confined
hensisthattheysufferfromstress,andinmanycasesthey
diefromit.Becauseinpigfarminganindividualpigmakesa
muchlargercontributionto totalprofitsthantheindividual
hen does, the pig farmer has to take this problem more
seriouslythanthepoultryfarmerdoes.Thereisanameforthe
condition—the “porcine stress syndrome”—and the
symptoms have beendescribed in one farming journal as;
“extremestress...rigidity,blotchyskin,panting,anxiety,and
often—suddendeath.”^72 Theconditionisespeciallyupsetting
toproducersbecause,asthesamearticlesays:“Painfully,you
oftenlosePSShogswhentheynearmarketweight,withafull
investment of feed.”