Re:The knackerman: the toughest job in British farming
by nradov on Sunday April 25, 2021 @11:21PM
(#26938935)
Sure pigs are intelligent but a pig that's never seen a gun before doesn't know it's going to die.
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Re:The knackerman: the toughest job in British farming
by jessaustin on Sunday April 25, 2021 @11:48PM
(#26939079)
If there are regular slaughters, smart animals might notice a pattern. "We never saw Fred again after he went to that strange shed. Then we never saw Tom after he went there. Why the hell are they dragging me over there now?!??"
This doesn't mean that any pig could articulate "I'm going to die". That isn't necessary. Nearly every ungulate (maybe not moose?) has a built-in mortal fear ready to surface at any time. New events, or repeated events with bad associations, bring out that fear. It takes a great deal of training to relax that.
Re:The knackerman: the toughest job in British farming
by aivisol on Monday April 26, 2021 @10:06AM
(#26942608)
The whole concept of thinking about animals dumber than they are makes killing them more acceptable.