Campaigner living in pig crate for 21 days admits to 'wobble' as stunt to highlight animal treatment approaches halfway mark

An animal rights campaigner who has locked herself inside a pig farrowing crate for 21 days and nights has revealed how the gruelling protest is taking its toll.

Michelle Farnham, 28, was speaking on the ninth day of her demonstration (Wednesday) in Trafalgar Square, where she is attempting to highlight the conditions endured by mother pigs on British factory farms.

The Animal Rising campaign manager entered the crate outside the National Gallery on September 1 and has vowed not to leave it for three weeks.

The metal structure allows her to stand up and lie down but prevents her from turning around, replicating a fraction of the confinement experienced by sows before and after giving birth.

Michelle said: “It has been a lot of logistical work, and at night I have people come to sit with me as I sleep to keep me safe. Sometimes it has been really hard, but I try and keep it in my mind that the pigs have it much worse.

“At least it is dark at night for me and I have a sleeping bag and pillow, in the farrowing crate the lights are on all the time.”

Michelle is remaining inside the crate around the clock and even uses a bucket when she needs the toilet.

She said: “When I need to go to the toilet I am covered in a tarp and have a bucket, I am not leaving the crate at all, as that is what the pigs endure.”

Despite the support she has received from members of the public, Michelle admitted the experience became particularly difficult earlier this week.

She said: “On Monday I definitely had a wobble and it all started to get to me a bit, I missed my boyfriend and my cats. But in general it has been ok because of the level of positivity for what I am doing. So many good conversations and that is what is keeping me going.”

The protest marks the launch of Animal Rising’s campaign calling on the UK Government to commit to ending factory farming by 2040 and publish a roadmap for the transition.

The Government’s Animal Welfare Strategy for England states that approximately 92 per cent of indoor pig production systems continue to use farrowing crates.

Pigs due to give birth and those nursing piglets can be confined for a month at a time, while commercial sows typically give birth twice a year.

The action coincides with the release of previously unseen footage documenting a month in the life of Luna, a sow confined inside a farrowing crate at Red Court Farm in Ipswich.

Animal Rising is calling for Luna to be released into a sanctuary rather than being put through another pregnancy, birth and separation from her piglets.

Michelle studied Animal Management for two years and has reviewed hundreds of hours of undercover footage recorded inside British pig farms while working alongside veterinary and animal welfare law experts.

She previously made national headlines as one of the Animal Rising campaigners who took action at the 2023 Grand National.

Explaining why she entered the crate, Michelle said: “I want people to see just how restrictive and abhorrent the factory farming system is.

“I've seen firsthand the physical and psychological suffering these crates cause. Right now, tens of thousands of mother pigs are confined in farrowing crates just like this one, unable even to turn around.

“I'll be inside this crate for 21 days. It will be a huge physical challenge and I know it's going to be tough, but at the end I get to walk away. But the pigs don't get a choice. Once they're released from the crate, it's only a matter of time before they're confined in one again.

“And this is just one example of the suffering built into factory farming. We don't have to accept this system - we’re asking the government to bring an end to factory farming for good.”

Rose Patterson, director of Animal Rising, who holds an MSc in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law, said: “For 21 days, in the heart of London, Michelle will give people a glimpse of a reality that is normally kept behind closed doors. But after three weeks, Michelle can step out. For Luna and thousands of other mother pigs, there is no such choice.

“Luna isn't just footage from an investigation. She is an individual; like all pigs she is intelligent, sensitive and curious, and right now she is still inside the farming system and will soon be forced back into a crate. We believe there is still time to change her story. We are calling on Red Court Farm to release Luna to sanctuary.

“We're calling on the Government to commit to ending factory farming by 2040. This campaign starts with Luna, but it won't end with her. We believe we can free Luna, and we believe Britain can end factory farming.”

Find out more at: https://luna.animalrising.org