No Vacation for Pigs
Every year 10,000 to 15,000 pigs are crammed into trucks and shipping containers for an agonizing journey of more than 4,000 miles, from the mainland to Hawaii, that ends at the slaughterhouse.
During this journey the pigs are never once unloaded to the ground to rest and go for long periods of time without receiving water or food. Due to overcrowding, stress, fighting, and overexposure, many pigs become ill or die. At the end of the journey they're crudely unloaded into cramped, filthy pens at the slaughterhouse, where they may remain for up to 2 weeks before being slaughtered.
Pigs are particularly ill-suited to long distance transport. They suffer from motion sickness, tend to fight among themselves when crowded together, and their bodies have a difficult time adjusting to high temperatures.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Handle with Care, a global coalition of national and international animal protection organizations (including Born Free USA united with API), is seeking to end the long-distance transport of animals for slaughter.
The Investigation
In 2007, the Coalition (of which Born Free USA united with API is a member) conducted an investigation into one of the worst transportation routes pigs travel in North America. Every year 10,000 to 15,000 pigs endure similar journeys of more than 4,000 miles:
- Day 1: Pigs leave Perlich Bros. Auction Market in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Some were transported 227 miles just to get here.
- Day 2: After being transported more than 1,300 miles by truck, the pigs arrive at Muzzy Ranch in Vacaville, California (operated by Pacific Livestock Co.). They are put directly into shipping containers without ever being unloaded to the ground to rest.
- Day 3: The pigs leave Vacaville and are driven to Oakland (or in some fewer cases to Long Beach) were they are loaded aboard a ship operated by Matson Navigation.
- Day 4–8: Pigs endure a 4 day journey onboard Matson Navigation vessel. The pigs are finally fed but the food may run out a day or more before the shop reaches port. Animals that die on the journey are thrown overboard.
- Day 8: Arriving in Honolulu, it is usually several hours before the pigs are unloaded from the ship. They are left sitting in the heat with minimal ventilation.
- Day 9: In the morning, the pigs travel another hour by truck to the Hawaii Livestock Cooperative, the only federally-inspected slaughterhouse on Oahu Island. It slaughters the majority of pigs processed in Hawaii. Stressed and weakened from their journey, the pigs are crudely unloaded into cramped, filthy pens.
- Day 10–24: The pigs may remain in crowded pens at the slaughterhouse for up to 2 weeks before being slaughtered. Hawaii Food Products and Wong's Meat Market are the importers of all pigs transported from the mainland to Oahu Island and thus the principal clients of Hawaii Livestock Cooperative slaughterhouse.
During the journey, the pigs are never once unloaded to the ground to rest and go for long periods of time without receiving water or food. Most pigs slaughtered in Hawaii come from the mainland and the meat is sold to unsuspecting locals and tourists as "Island Produced" pork.
Serious Animal Welfare Problems
The Handle with Care investigators uncovered a number of serious animal welfare problems when they followed shipments of pigs from Canada to Hawaii. These problems apply equally to shipments from the mainland to Hawaii, and include:
- The duration of the journey (7 to 9 days and sometimes longer) is far too long.
- The pigs are never unloaded to the ground for food, water, and rest.
- The animals are moved multiple times, increasing the potential for stress and spread of disease.
- Overcrowded conditions result in fighting, increased aggression, and stress.
- The pigs are kept in shipping containers, with minimal ventilation.
- The pigs are left sitting in the full sun for hours on end, sometimes enduring temperatures up to 100° F.
- Pigs were roughly treated with electrical prods and crude implements during loading and unloading.
- Sick and injured pigs are often left untreated.
- The ramp used for unloading the animals at the slaughterhouse is too steep, causing some pigs to panic and increasing their stress levels.
- The slaughterhouse has been cited by the USDA for the inhumane handling and slaughter of animals.
- The slaughterhouse holding pens are so overcrowded that pigs are forced to lie on top of one another, some coughing continuously.
It doesn't have to be this way.
What the Law Says
Under the Health of Animals Act, Canadian transport regulations prohibit transporting sick or injured animals, crowding animals to the extent that it could cause injury or undue suffering and confines pigs in a motor vehicle for longer than 36 hours unless the animals are fed, watered, and rested. All of these were observed during this investigation. However, the pigs travel on Canadian roadways for less than 3 hours after leaving the Lethbridge auction house and current regulations do not apply once the truck crosses the border.
In the United States of America, less than one-third of states have adopted laws that restrict the amount of time animals may be confined during transportation, and many of those that do, allow up to 36 hours or more of confinement without food, water, or rest. The Federal 28-Hour Law, enacted in 1906 and amended in 1994, covers the interstate transport of animals for sale or slaughter. Generally it requires that livestock being transported across state lines be humanely unloaded into pens for food, eater, and at least 5 hours of rest every 28 hours.
While this law does not apply when the pigs are transported between states by ship, our investigators found that the pigs were never unloaded for food, water and rest while transported by truck from Alberta to California and during their time at the Muzzy Ranch. This could be a potential violation of the Federal 28-Hour Law.
You Have the Power to Make a Difference
Help us stop this cruel and unnecessary trade.
- Hawaiian locals and tourists should ask restaurant and supermarket managers to never offer pork from live animals transported from the mainland.
- Hawaiian markets, restaurants, and hotels should instruct their suppliers they do not want meat from live animals transported from the mainland.
- North American producers should stop exporting live animals to Hawaii.
- The Hawaiian Legislature should require that the Island Produced label only be used on meat from animals raised on the islands.
Find out how you can help right now! Go to our Action Alert and then go to www.handlewithcare.tv to see additional footage and find out more ways to help the global campaign.
Updated Information
The Handle with Care coalition welcomes news from the Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture that the last shipment of pigs from Canada to Hawaii was in October 2007.
At this time, we cannot confirm that the shipments of pigs from Canada have ended permanently. There is no Canadian or U.S. regulation that would prevent them from starting up again.
The cruel and unnecessary long distance transport of animals for slaughter continues around the globe. The Handle with Care coalition will continue to campaign for a complete and permanent ban. Thousands of farm animals still suffer journeys from Canada into the U.S. and the U.S. to Hawaii each year when they could be killed far nearer to the point of rearing and transported as chilled or frozen meat.
Handle with Care Coalition
The Handle with Care Coalition (North America) consists of:
- World Society for the Protection of Animals
- Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute
- Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals
- Humane Society International
