January 27, 2011

Farmers Save Water By Toilet Training Pigs

Taiwan’s pig-farmers are being asked to learn a new skill in the name of water conservation, Reuters reports. The government wants them to toilet-train their animals and help save the nation millions of tonnes of water each year.

Stay Up-to-Date On Environmental Management, Energy & Sustainability News with EL's Free Daily Newsletter

Reader Comments

it is kind of difficult to slaughter an animal after you have gone through the trouble of toilet training it. Don’t you think?

If farmers would not use industrial, factory farm methods this would not be an issue. The pig sty showed here is not humane or sustainable, seeing the number of animals housed so closely and the grated floor for the toilet area. Farmers who use open range/outdoor access methods don’t have such sustainability issues.

Factory farms like this simply aren’t sustainable regardless of how they collect the waste. They should convert to free range methods and compost the waste instead of piling it in lagoons. Way too many animals packed in close quarters here. Unsustainable, inhumane and breeds illness that results in overuse of antibiotics.

Advertisers