A German shepherd, by way of contrast, has about 200 million. And when it comes to hearing, once again we pale in comparison. The German shepherd can hear sounds clearly at 200 yards that we cannot detect at a mere 20. I grew up on a farm in the Cariboo region of B.C. where my family raised horses, sheep, dairy goats, dogs and cats. The idyllic family farm has now fallen by the wayside, replaced by today's agribusiness with huge animal factories where animals are kept in cramped, unnatural conditions and often never see the light of day.
Pigs are friendly, intelligent animals with an I.Q. higher than even dogs.
Yet confinement in concrete or metal-slat stalls, often stacked one atop another, result in many crippling injuries. Their excrement drops on those below and collects in pits below their stalls, where the resulting toxic fumes produce pneumonia in 80 percent of all pigs slaughtered. Death by starvation often results from irregular growths in de-beaked birds and their talons growing around the wire mesh floor, making it impossible to reach the water or feed troughs. Dairy and beef cows are now fed growth hormones and antibiotics from birth to slaughter. For over 1.5 million food animals slaughtered in Canada every working day, the slaughterhouse brings a welcome end to the unceasing deprivation, crowding, manhandling and mutilation that characterizes life on today's factory farms.