The world's first really live pig feed

Published 15/05/2013

From 10-11am and 2-3pm, visitors to Westfield Shopping Centre in London can feed free-range pigs, live, via a live link up on a digital advertising board.

Shoppers can use their smartphones to activate a feed machine which will then scatter apples and other feed to the pigs at Collings Hanger Farm, Buckinghamshire.

For the second time in two years, Elvis has come up with a creative idea to win advertising space to help end factory farming. So, from 14th May, Compassion has taken over a huge digital screen in the Westfield Centre, Shepherd's Bush, London.

Philip Lymbery, CEO at Compassion says: "Please support free-range farming by taking part in the live feed event at Westfield and find out more about our pig campaign, Project Pig that is aiming to improve pig welfare in the EU. We must continue to do more to ensure that pigs are treated as the curious, intelligent beings that they are."

The digital billboard on Eat Street at Westfield will use a live webcam showing pigs living happily on a free-range farm. Pigs deserve to live in a free-range, roaming environment, where they are allowed to show their natural behaviours such as rooting.

Philip adds: "Unfortunately, the fundamental reality remains: the vast majority of pigs and indeed all farm animals do not live in this type of free-range environment. 90% are reared on factory farms in the EU in barren environments, with slatted floors and where routine mutilations such as tail docking and teeth clipping happen far too often."

While the partial ban on sow stalls in the EU came into force at the beginning of this 2013, not all EU members are currently compliant, and with 60% of our pig meat being imported, there is still a cause for concern: for the pigs' welfare, for consumers and indeed for our British farmers.