Everybody Hurts: The Story of Howie the Pig

[yaksongs]

This video made me cry. I have a pig, Amelie, who also escaped the slaughterhouse. She ran away when the lorry arrived there and hid in a ladies garden. The lady wouldn't let the slaughtermen into her home to catch Amelie and telephoned me. We rushed over there to collect her. Percy, another pig here, has a similar story. His mother gave birth in a lorry on the way to the slaughterhouse and he fell out. No-one has the right to take the life of another creature. No debate, it is wrong.

[vonSchlemmer]

Well, unfortunately there is all kinds of debate - but I'm with you - at least in modern western society, it's just not necessary and it's especially cruel and heartless.

How cool that you have rescued pigs! I miss the presence of pigs in my life. I need to visit some again soon! Perhaps a visit to farm sanctuary sometime soon!

[ilovea4eva]

omg...i'm crying so much. I am so horrified by how the animals are being treated... I am not a vegetarian and I didn't know the reality...of how badly animals are tortured...this really scared and horrified me...sob. I want to become a vegetarian. I heard it's dangerous if you do because of lack of iron....is this true? I want to quit eating meat but everything is MEAT everywhere u go. I want to stop eating meat for good...sigh. THis is...really cruel omg...

[batzndiamonds]

If the world was a bathroom, humans would be the scum, or shit, whichever one.

[vonSchlemmer]

Just some humans, many more would just be apathetic bacteria , and only because our society doesn't teach us to respect other sentient beings.

[vonSchlemmer]

They became good friends (as best we could tell). they would hang out together and often nuzzle each other.

[stopkillinghorses]

i do not eat any kind of meat i have a pet dairy cow that can barly stand but she lives a good life with acses to a barn and paster with the others . i also have a pig . i agree with your vid we should not kill them!

[missingkalest]

this video made me cry. I wish people would open up their eyes and see the cruelty that is being done to the animals... when will this stop? Its so sad... my heart hurts

[lillilliann]

i think this is so sad i have a pet pig me and my friends gave up bacon welll my close freinds all pork and swine i feel so bad this is so cruel and wrong how can you see the pigs and eat bacon pigs would live about 24 YEARS LONGER THEN WE LET THEM LIVE!

[vonSchlemmer]

Well, 24 years is pretty old for a pig, but they could live much longer than the average factory farmed pig does - which is about 6 months. But humans have bred them to grow so fast and so fat that they have a hard time when they actually do get to become big adult pigs. But they remain very sweet even when they weigh hundreds of pounds - they always love a belly rub! And yes, they can live for years and years.

[bigasti88]

Bastards.

Save the animals.

[vonSchlemmer]

It is absolutely true. Howie was found in a animal shelter in Kansas City and he ended up living out his life in a sanctuary nearby. He lived in my fenced in garden for two months and became playmates with my puppies (and me!).

And I hope that we humans take it upon ourselves to make peace with animals. Surely that's what a benevolent creator would want, no?

[Orulyon]

its so sad...

[dementians]

Great video! Howie was one of the lucky few - the other thousands that did arrive to slaughter were not lucky by any stretch of the imagination. Kudos to all of you here who are vegetarian or vegan, like me. Thanks for sharing this vid!!

[Demeterloves42]

What I'd like to know, is why do people rather turn a blind eye to the brutal treatment of animals? they like to tell themselves as to avoid discomfort "that they feel no pain" what?!?!. they have a centralized nervous system! therefore, they feel pain! And I don't care if the guys at the slaughter house are having a bad day, if an animal is heading for death row, why not save your anger, insults and make it fast? they seem to enjoy taking out their stress on beings that cannot scream for help!

[lovetoallanimals]

Great video! I have to admit that I could not watch it all; I scrolled down and read the comments and listened to the song... I get the idea... Everybody hurts... pigs hurt too! There is absolutely no good reason anymore to eat meat and keep destroying other sentient beings or keep destroying the planet! It is just plain WRONG!!!

[animalliberation0961]

MEAT IS MURDER.

[TheVeganHere]

I am crying as I type this. This video was so moving. The anger I feel over what goes on in the treatment of these innocent animals. The pain of knowing that millions of animals are treated so horribly. It was in a way, torture to see beautiful, sweet, wonderful, happy, Howie at the end. It was heart warming but it makes it even more unbearable to think that animals like him are tortured and then slaughtered. I really can't conceive that this happens to millions of animals.

[DianeDi]

Thank you for what you do - and protecting the ones with no voice. We shouldn't be eating them - not now not ever....

[chavspotter]

Pigs are extremely intelligent creatures, it's so sad that we treat them so cruelly.

[CDLver]

vonSchlemmer, a most exceptional video! Sigh -- for the happy ending.

thanks,

cd

[TillyFlop]

Thank you TheVeganicWitch for sending me this video ... I was crying until the end & then I had a big smile on my face to see Howie free. If I won the lottery I'd buy a smallholding & lots of land & start my own sanctuary. Trouble is it would never be big enough for all the animals I'd want to save.

[powerturkey1]

Why are the same old clips shown!! Beating thesows at least that particular clip is in many other vedios on pig farming and slaughter! Pigs should live out in pastures and eat hormone free food. But lets face it folks piga ARE food! Food for MANY peaple!!

[vonSchlemmer]

But pigs don't have to be food and it is clear that you can eat more healthily and more efficiently by not eating pigs. The same old clips are used because it is very hard to get footage from inside factory farms and slaughterhouses. This footage is called the "diner" footage & has been circulating for years because people shot most of it undercover and got it out for the world to see. We use it so that it will be seen. Please walk into factory farms and shoot more so we'll have new footage!

[TurboBobo47]

why do people do this??? if you watched this and didn't cry, you don't have a heart. i can't believe america still supports this bullshit

[chokolate999]

well, my thing is, not the actual killing of the pig...just how they die..they can just kill the pig so it just dies, they have to practically torture it by cutting it from the head down....

[vonSchlemmer]

Humane slaughter is an oxymoron no matter how you look at it. I agree, it could be done with slightly less suffering, but I chose to avoid participating in any of it and I live healthier and happier because of that choice. More than 10 billion animals dies in American factory farms each year . . . no matter how you look at it, there will be way too much suffering involved in that for me to take any part in.

[N3M36]

people should stop killing eachother instead of stopping to kill animals.

[vonSchlemmer]

Why can't we do both? I firmly believe that they can go hand in hand. Let's aim higher and end as much suffering of all species that we can!

[Ghost093105256]

I think pigs are the most adorable creatures on earth and humans really shouldn't abuse any animal.

[Ghost093105256]

I can't believe that some people would try and hurt animals! My favorite animal is a pig and I cried through this whole vid.

[Ams11121]

why do they beat the pigs in slaughterhouse?

if u wanna kill them then do it but by GOD dont fuckin beat them ffs!

[vonSchlemmer]

It is seemingly hard to have an industry based on the industrialized killing of thousands of animals without the humans losing much of what most of us would call their humanity. Death and suffering breeds inhumanity. Part of the choice to live a vegan lifestyle is to avoid the creation of any such suffering because of the direct harm it causes and the indirect repercussions it has for everyone involved in the suffering.

[Ams11121]

yea.. i mean ur kinda right..

but tell this to the lions and tigers in the jungle who beat the shit outa animals and slowly eat them. this is their nature!

if any vegetarian has problem with this concept they can complain to the god but this is the way it is! nothing's gonna change if we stop eating meat.. isnt this true that begetables and flowers and trees also have some sort of life? if u stick a knide into some tree, white liquid flows out of it.. so there's nothing we can do about it!

[vonSchlemmer]

Most predators go for a pretty clean kill actually. And yes, it is in their nature - not trying to change that. But it is not "in our nature" to make animals suffer the way we do and what's more we don't need to kill them at all - in fact we can live happy, healthier lives if we don't! And no, plants do not have a central nervous system so they do not feel pain any way similarly as animals do. What will change if we stop eating meat is fewer sentient creatures will suffer needlessly.

[powerturkey1]

Pigs can be cute and intelligent!! Some peaplo have pigs as pets. However lets face it, the bottom line is pigs are food. Some of you may be outraged by that statement, but its true! One piggie escapes the slaughter house and now there are vedios glorfying this. Pork chops taste good and there is no vedio that will change my mind on that. The very idea of becomming a grass eater(Vegan) sends chills down my spine. Hey why don't we protect rats too!

[vonSchlemmer]

What do you base your "pigs are food" belief on? Why aren't human babies food? They are for other potential carnivores in the wild! I don't eat grass - I eat a wide variety of foods - wider than when I ate meat because I am open to many grains, legumes, and fruits that I would not have tried had I not been exploring the culinary world. I like rats, too, and would not kill them unless they threatened my life directly.They rarely do, luckily.

[porolita22]

I find it so hard to understand just how people can agree on this much abuse and murder just cause the meat "tastes good".

It's just such a selfish and terrible thing. We can live perfectly healthy without meat.

[nyboeren]

im aigenst abuse but we need food to survive too. we need protein and its best to get from meat and fish, and if we starting eating more fish alot of people would call it mean course they die on the ship.

i think its okay to kill and eat the animals if they had a good life and have been outsite at the sommer, at if they are killed in a painless way

[vonSchlemmer]

I and many others would disagree that it is best to get protein from meat and fish - it is inefficient and unhealthy for us and, obviously, the animals. There are many ways to get protein and there are more and more studies that show that the other things we get with meat protein are not healthy for us. Many people live healthy lives without eating any animal products at all-from olympic & professional athletes to your average filmmaker. And yes, I think killing fish is mean & also unnecessary!

[minuteofdecay00]

Exaclty! We even live more healthy, and the argument that this terrible industri is okay because meat tastes good is also stupid, considering that soymeat and tofu can taste exactly the same, and it is no cruelty and suffering behind that kind of food! Go vegan for life! :D

[journeyman47]

porolita: Exactly. You said it all right there. I stopped eating meat 6 months ago and never will again. I will no longer contribute to this kind of cruelty, and I will tell everyone I know about it. Thanks for your wonderful sentiment, and thanks vonSchlemmer for making such a touching video. Some day I hope to make one half as good.

[repex99]

yes. i eat meat but i love all animals! its a personal choice and if no animals died they would all die of starvation

[vonSchlemmer]

That is simply not true. The cycle of life worked for millions of years before humans came along & industrialized agriculture & animal husbandry. We breed millions of animals for our food desires (not needs) and we usually feed them the very food that we could eat ourselves. In fact, more studies are showing that human malnutrition and starvation could be better alleviated if we stopped feeding so much of our grain to cows & pigs. It is a personal choice, but not a wise one in many ways.

[repex99]

yes i understand what you meen and i didnt really mean just humans killing them evan though it did sound like it. but yes. we are supposed to be the smartest speciese as humans but animals when you think of it dont kill eachother over retarded reasons like oil and stuff.

[goldenstarlight]

i m crying right now ....I just hope that the people who have no respect for life get one day the right punishment

[TheVeganHere]

I'm crying too. :-(

[MissPiggiexD]

Awwe.

This Video Made Me Cry :'(

Pigs Have Feelings Too!

That Was Very Upsetting.

[staccee]

this is soo sick. abusing animals is wrong and fucked up. i hate ppl who abuse ANY animal!!!!! it should be ur mother.

[vonSchlemmer]

I don't think hate really helps the situation, but I totally know the feeling. And yes, I think treating all other beings like they were your mother (that is if you love your mother) is a sound rule!

[vonSchlemmer]

It's metaphor, my friend! And this was conceived and shot BEFORE American Beauty (they stole from me!) and, btw, an entirely different extracted meaning from the image - it's the image that helped inspire the video for me - refuse buffeted by powers beyond its control, used and discarded.

[lordnick1575]

i have to comment this vidieo is soo moving its great im veggie and i like a nice story about animals breaking the chains of human badness

[juskisiberiano]

But now that human brain has provided the means to not only get enough nutrition, but has surpassed the real needs with much... Right now exist the technology to avoid maintaining slaves to be eaten...

[juskisiberiano]

A reflection to all that say that as eating meat has been a long term custom, it should keep existing: when men came to eat systematically meat was because it is a concentrated source of nutriments and man had to had it to overcome the handicap he had among better physically evolved predators and to be able to develop his best asset: his brain.

[fishmarc]

juski, that was true then but, we were mostly scavengers at first. Also, the animals get their protein from vegetation, as we now can. ANY time you consume any animal products YOU ARE PERSONALLY COMMITTING THE ABUSE THAT YOU SEE IN THIS VIDEO. This planet cannot survive if we continue to consume animals, period. Start reading something more updated.

[lordnick1575]

go howie your are so cool im vegie

[meeelin]

Watching this video reaffirms my vegetarianism (not that I was thinking about eating meat!). I can't believe treatment like this is accepted. How can the person whipping the pig not realize that they are causing suffering and distress, regardless of how "intelligent" the pig is THOUGHT to be?

[donodesta]

beautiful, sad video.

let us stop eating animals.

[vonSchlemmer]

Slavery, prostitution and war have always been around as well-that's not a moral or ethical justification for their existence. But yes, there are ways to consume animals that are easier on the environment, our health, and on the animals (right up until they are killed). But in our modern society, there is no reason we need to and many, many reasons not to.

[sociopathicregret]

Animal eating has always been around. However, the thing is, we should refrain as much as possible from eating highly processed 'popular' brands, because they buy from highly abusive and unsanitary slaughterhouses.

[RadicalCrazyness]

2:44ish just about killed me. people please stop eating these poor animals...

[Beauschleigh]

Thank you!

[awarenessdaywwh]

In 2000 I had the pleasure of spending a day on a rescue farm and spent a fair amount of time playing with a pig. Changed my views on eating meat forever. Such intelligent and beautiful animals, as are all animals..

[vonSchlemmer]

I miss hanging with pigs, it's been too long. I'm not sure about the beauty thing for all animals, except in a larger more existential sense. But beauty or intelligent are still not legitimate excuses to treat a sentient being poorly.

[HyperNathan]

as are all animals? I dont think thats true tbh. Most reptiles and fish are total morons I think. Most birds except for the corvids(Ravens are extremely intelligent moreso than pigs IMO) are pretty stupid too. Primates, Felines, Canines, Ursidae, Whales, Cetaceans, Elephants etc are smart but most mammals are stupid too.

[vonSchlemmer]

Well . . . how do you really measure a species' intelligence against another species? Could you survive alone in the desert (or in the ocean, for that matter) successfully over the long term? Living, breeding, etc.? Can they solve puzzles that humans create for them? Most other species can't. It's a fairly irrelevant discussion really.

[HyperNathan]

While I agree its impossible to measure one animals intelligence against another in a fair way, I also don't think its a stretch to say that some animals are obviously more intelligent than others, and by general comparison to some of the "smarter" animals, some animals are extremely stupid.

[vonSchlemmer]

I think I'll just agree with your first comment that it's impossible to measure one animal's intelligence against another in a fair way. The phrase "obviously more intelligent" is problematical - what is obvious to homo sapien sapiens may not be obvious to, say, Coleonyx variegatus (banded gecko) - plus think of the "stupid" things humans have done throughout history-like poisoning our own water supplies. We can agree to disagree. But don't mess with pigs-they are the coolest!

[blazy4now]

Thank you for sharing this video. It raises awareness of the cruelty of slaughterhouses. Who really are the animals? Humans seem to be the monsters.

[halfbread1986]

i love pigs and seein this made me cry lol and also made me vegitairien

[vonSchlemmer]

It still makes me tear up a bit myself. I hope your vegetarian journey goes well. I myself went vegan around the time I knew Howie.

[TangerineTangerine]

Im a vegan too. thanks for sharing this with us. Its devastating but it has to be seen. People dont know what suffering goes into their "food".

[Aleksiina]

I still can't believe that you made a video for a pig. Though, they are cute. Go Howie!

[vonSchlemmer]

Really? Well, I made it for people as much as a pig. And he wasn't just any old pig. But then, I guess the point is that no sentient being is ever just "any old" nobody - even a random pig raised in a factory farm with thousands of other pigs who just happens to fall off a truck (or jump!) is actually a very cool being if given a chance to be.

[vonSchlemmer]

Thanks for the comment. I haven't gotten to hang out with any pigs for a couple years now . . . I miss them. But I agree - sweet, sensitive beings. And no one loves a belly rub more, in my experience!

[monknblack]

completely agree :) tnx for d vid, reminded me y I'm sticking to vegetables :D

[vonSchlemmer]

But don't forget the fruit and nuts! (Thanks!)

[treehugger66]

someday i'd like to buy a bunch of factory farm animals from meat industries for twice the amount of money the animal is technically work, and raise them all on a farm somewhere

[vonSchlemmer]

I'm not sure that giving money to industries that profit from such cruelty will help in the long run . . . there are several farm animal sanctuaries that rescue animals that are "thrown away" from factory farms or that escape on their own . . . check out the organization "Farm Sanctuary" - they do great work . . . but I appreciate the sentiment.

[johndeere0710]

that is so depressing people are losers if they treat animals that way!!

[depressivedoll]

it so sad,

i love the video...

howie is so lucky...i wish all the pigs have the same luck

:( thats made me cry so muuuuch

[vonSchlemmer]

You all did great work down there in Florida! A couple of the people that helped save Howie (there in the credits) moved down there and were involved in that work as well. Keep doing the good work!

[SoreWinner]

I still don't understand how someone can harm another living thing and not lose part of their soul in the process. Eventually, I would want to die myself rather than take another life.

[gomo213]

man thats horrible...go howie

[vonSchlemmer]

Thanks for the comment. Slaughterhouse footage is really hard to watch . . . it doesn't really get easier, but it shouldn't. Watching it, for me, is like bearing witness to the suffering that goes on - even if you yourself try not to participate in supporting such cruelty (by choosing not to eat animals or to live without animal exploitative products) - it's important to know that it still goes on every day to millions and millions of animals.

[ALFJAG]

good vid

Howie is a very lucky pig :)

[Luxtar1980]

Lucky Howie! That man that was bludgeoning the pig doesn't deserve to live.

[vonSchlemmer]

Thanks for the sentiment, but I try to be careful about deciding who deserves to live and who doesn't - that sort of thinking is what has created our current situation where we treat sentient creatures as punching bags or commodities. Instead I try to do as little harm as possible (look up "ahimsa"). I like to think that this man simply needs enlightening or educating. But I certainly understand your reaction. I can't always claim to be patient with the intolerance of others. peace~mark

[vonSchlemmer]

Well thanks Shania, Howie would have probably loved you, too. He was a very friendly guy.