Pigs can be a swine for 'elf and safety!

If you have ever fed a shed load of pigs, like I have, you will know they can create quite a rumpus at feeding time. Pigs have something in common with health and safety experts. Both are highly strung, prone to sudden bouts of squealing, and when determined to go somewhere nothing much deters them.

The latest example of health and safety overkill is in the booklet "Farmwise - An Essential Guide to Health and Safety in Farming". It is bound to be a good read. Because there is a large amount of squealing at feeding time, this handy hint book suggests that mechanical hoppers are used and that farmers keep out at feeding time. They suggest farmers wear earmuffs to protect their eardrums from the noise. I never had a problem with pigs and their noises. What I did at breakfast time was to sneak in whilst the snoring was going on, gently place the grub in the troughs and then announce to the somnolent sows that "Breakfast is served!". They were never amused. It was very cruel cheating these pigs of adequate squealing time.

Yes, it's a racket. But it hardly goes on for long. I never worked in a shed full of 400, but then I'd suggest the Health and Safety Executive passed their concerns over to the RSPCA rather that looking like prize plonkers and colluding with farmers who are involved with factory farming.

This safety warning can hardly apply to pigs feeding in the open on a free range basis. Pigs only squeal when they are distressed or over-excited. A happy, stress-free pig grunts. There's nothing in that booklet about grunting.