Animal confinement houses are misunderstood in the world today. The general public has yet to decrease the animal rights grip on farmers causing a decrease in sales. The main battle is on the assumption of animal cruelty in a confinement house. Livestock Confinement facilities are acceptable to use and provide many benefits to the consumer and producer. Of which, the biggest benefits are shelter, health, environment, safety. One of the biggest reasons that confinement housing is used today is for shelter. Before Confinement buildings were implemented, pig were raised in outdoor pens. These pens only had a small hut that could only be used for sleeping. The downside to this was that pigs were out in the open which imposed a health risk to them.
…show more content…
One of the main arguments against confinement housing is the assumption of poor health conditions. Of this, the biggest concern is carbon monoxide poisoning and gases. The floors of these building are made of slats, removable concrete beams, and provide gaps in the floor every four inches. This allows the hog manure to fall into a pit that is buried in the ground. This can cause the buildup of gas to rise in the pen area. To prevent this, fans in the building are set up to help regulate temperature and remove any gases from the barn in under 11 minutes as required by law. In addition to this, small exhaust fans are placed outside of the barns with a pipe running into the pit to remove additional gas buildup. With manure being collected in large pits, it is easy to store and use later as fertilizer on fields. When manure is added to the soil, the nutrient levels rise causing the grain to yield higher and healthier. This method of fertilization is completely organic provides grain to the market or can be used to make hog feed, in turn providing healthy feed for the livestock. Feeders are placed throughout each pen with an auger that runs from a feed bin to each feeder to provide feed 24/7. This also allows for an easy way of medication. With individual feeders, farmers are able to mix in medicine and vitamins into feed rations to be distributed among the herd. Many newer models are capable of administering medication …show more content…
Many reports have been made against farms in claim that the workers are torturing their animals. Some of these accounts are true, but it does not stand true for all farms. All hog farmers must pass multiple certification tests every couple of years. These certifications stand to prove that great care and effort are put in to raising livestock while being as humane as possible. Another big concern is euthanasia. All euthanasia practices are approved and regulated by the federal government. Any operation that does not follow proper procedure is fined by government. The last misunderstanding to the public is farrowing crates. Farrowing crates are frames built in to pens which restrict the level of mobility on a farrowing sow. This has been the biggest discussion in the swine industry and not backed by the public, so much so that it is illegal to use farrowing crates on any hog operation in the state of Florida. The true reason that farmers use farrowing crates is to prevent any harm to baby piglets which have just farrowed and are still nursing from their mother. What these crates do is help prevent the mother from sitting on any of her piglets causing them immense pain until the unfortunately are squished to
One of the main arguments against confinement housing is the assumption of poor health conditions. Of this, the biggest concern is carbon monoxide poisoning and gases. The floors of these building are made of slats, removable concrete beams, and provide gaps in the floor every four inches. This allows the hog manure to fall into a pit that is buried in the ground. This can cause the buildup of gas to rise in the pen area. To prevent this, fans in the building are set up to help regulate temperature and remove any gases from the barn in under 11 minutes as required by law. In addition to this, small exhaust fans are placed outside of the barns with a pipe running into the pit to remove additional gas buildup. With manure being collected in large pits, it is easy to store and use later as fertilizer on fields. When manure is added to the soil, the nutrient levels rise causing the grain to yield higher and healthier. This method of fertilization is completely organic provides grain to the market or can be used to make hog feed, in turn providing healthy feed for the livestock. Feeders are placed throughout each pen with an auger that runs from a feed bin to each feeder to provide feed 24/7. This also allows for an easy way of medication. With individual feeders, farmers are able to mix in medicine and vitamins into feed rations to be distributed among the herd. Many newer models are capable of administering medication …show more content…
Many reports have been made against farms in claim that the workers are torturing their animals. Some of these accounts are true, but it does not stand true for all farms. All hog farmers must pass multiple certification tests every couple of years. These certifications stand to prove that great care and effort are put in to raising livestock while being as humane as possible. Another big concern is euthanasia. All euthanasia practices are approved and regulated by the federal government. Any operation that does not follow proper procedure is fined by government. The last misunderstanding to the public is farrowing crates. Farrowing crates are frames built in to pens which restrict the level of mobility on a farrowing sow. This has been the biggest discussion in the swine industry and not backed by the public, so much so that it is illegal to use farrowing crates on any hog operation in the state of Florida. The true reason that farmers use farrowing crates is to prevent any harm to baby piglets which have just farrowed and are still nursing from their mother. What these crates do is help prevent the mother from sitting on any of her piglets causing them immense pain until the unfortunately are squished to