This Baby Died Surrounded by Feces, Not Loved Ones

This might make you uncomfortable, and it might make you sad, but relating to others makes us better—and animals need us to be better. Think of a moment when you were scared. When you felt alone, upset, and afraid that this moment would last forever. Those feelings aren’t unique to humans—other animals feel them, too. Look into this piglet’s eyes. See yourself in someone else. Let yourself feel empathy. And then use your human privilege to end speciesism.

How can we justify killing someone who didn’t have to die in order for us to live? How can we call what we do to animals anything but murder?

We can’t.

Animals aren’t ours. Their flesh isn’t ours to eat. Their bodies aren’t ours to forcibly inseminate. Their babies aren’t ours to mutilate and kidnap. Some of the horrific conditions documented at East Fork Farms in Indiana are the standard practice for billions of sensitive, gentle animals who never did anything to deserve this. This is why speciesism is toxic to our society and why we must abolish it.

A brave whistleblower who documented this pig farm described it as a “horrid dungeon” where billions of maggots and cockroaches infested the barns and rats scurried among the tiny piglets—many of whom lay dead or dying in feces. Some had even fallen through the floor into the reeking, backed-up manure pit and were desperately struggling to stay afloat.

The whistleblower documented mother pigs who were confined to crates so tightly that they couldn’t even turn around and were forced to watch their piglets die and decompose. Read the whistleblower’s letter to the police here.

You can hear the distress and fear in the animals’ voices.

She never got to feel the comfort of her mother’s warm body or the reassuring coos as she nursed. She never got to snuggle in a warm, soft bed. She never got to play with her siblings or feel the grass beneath her feet or the sun on her back. She never got to experience love or kindness before she died.

This tiny, defenseless animal is one of billions of babies who are considered trash by the very humans they have to rely on to satisfy their most basic needs—which are never met.

Their lives are filled with nothing but pain, loneliness, and terror, and they die all alone on a cold hard floor or kicking and screaming in a slaughterhouse.

This is how the meat industry treats animals—and it won’t change until we do. It must be dismantled by us—by the consumers—by people who rise up and demand an end to treating animals this way. An end to seeing them as “others” and not an extension of ourselves. An end to human supremacy and the view that it’s OK to eat them. An end to speciesism.

We want everyone to know this piglet’s story. Join a local SOS hub or start one and help us end speciesism.

SOS hubs get loud for animals with action kits that help students raise awareness and make change. Action for this case can be taken using video projections, light masks, banners, signs, presentations, and more—and each hub has a PETA adviser to help you make the biggest difference for animals in your area.

Already leading a hub? E-mail your PETA adviser to get the action kit.