This shocking video shows how pigs are killed in China these days, as a result of a breakdown of the African Swine Fever virus (ASF).

About 350 million pigs were killed in China during 2019 due to the African Swine Fever. That's about a quarter of all the (live) pigs in the world! When mainstream media is mostly concerned with economic implications, this video really puts things in perspective.

Burying pigs alive

What is seen in this video is the 2nd phase of this hideous practice. After the pigs were dumped into a huge grave, a massive backhoe covers the helpless pigs with dirt. Some pigs desperately try to escape and others, who are already quashed, scream in agony. However, no matter how hard they fight to get out, none of them stands a chance.

This is what the African Swine Fever epidemic looks like from the pigs' perspective. When we consider the animals' point of view, questions about whether China will manage to import enough pig flesh from other countries to meet consumers' demand seem surreal, if not completely insane.

Why pigs in China are killed this way?

Pigs in China and other countries are killed alive in mass graves because it's a cheap way to get rid of many bodies at once. From a business perspective, it's cheaper to not kill each pig individually and bury the pigs alive all at once.

A lifelong abuse

Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of it all, is that the violence in this video is just the tip of the iceberg of the lifelong abuse suffered by these animals. After all, these pigs come from farms that treat them as things, as means to human ends. And this miserable treatment of pigs is happening everywhere, not only in China.

How can I help?