Helene and Schucki
From the perspective of Gut Aiderbichl
From the perspective of Gut Aiderbichl
(written by Gisela Pschenitschnig)
Helene (9 years) and Schuki (6 years), were lucky in their misfortune. Their life story began in Lower Austria. There was a pig farmer there for a long time, who at some point wanted to stop breeding.
The farmer's daughter studied agriculture and only wanted to do more farming. On the day Helene and Schuki, her son, were to be collected from the slaughterhouse, she was at home and watched how the two pigs vehemently resisted being put on the transporter.
The intelligence of pigs and their suffering
On average, each Austrian consumes about 36.4 kilograms of pork per year. Most of the meat comes from farms where the farming methods do not correspond to the natural needs of the pig and thus pigs are systematically made ill. In Austria alone, about 60% of the pigs are kept on fully slatted floors. Due to the hard and too cool standing and lying areas, they suffer from joint inflammations, lung diseases due to the ammonia vapours. The highly intelligent animals are behaviourally disturbed and suffer.
Pigs love to be able to move around at least as much as a dog. Their basic needs also include grooming, social behaviour, exploratory behaviour, etc. Pigs are curious and even similar to primates in their intelligence. Not keeping them in a manner appropriate to their species makes these highly sensitive animals ill - physically and psychologically.
Do pigs have emotions?
Helene and Schuki defended themselves with loud cries against the ruthless and emotionless loading onto the slaughter truck. For the daughter of the former pig farmer, Helene and Schucki's cries for help were decisive in stopping the transport on the spot.
Unfortunately, her father became a nursing case and she was no longer able to cope with her full-time job, caring for her father, working on the farm and looking after the pigs. A veterinarian intervened so that Helene and Schuki could now live a content and safe life at Gut Aiderbichl Carinthia.
When I mention in the tours of the estate that animals have feelings such as sadness and joy, I am sometimes smiled at. But the fact is that animals - whether pigs or horses, dogs or cats - have emotions. But pigs and emotions?
Helene and Schuki have won
One of Gut Aiderbichl's tasks is to give people a different view of animals. Helene and Schuki are not just farm animals, but fellow creatures and part of the natural system. Looking at the animal and respecting it thus enables the pig to have a species-appropriate, respectful existence in the natural system of the earth.
May Helene and Schuki live a long and happy life at Gut Aiderbichl in Carinthia.
We can tell that they are doing well by their happy eyes and cheerful "oink" sounds.
In this sense,
Sincerely,
Your Gisela