![]() Also, our pigs grow bigger, so they can step on each other’s tails and get wounds, lesions to the spine.” It’s not comparable with the north of Europe. “It’s normal that they bite their brothers’ tails. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 35C, problematic for pigs, which have a limited capacity for regulating their own body temperature. Italy’s climate means the country is a special case, as the heat makes life particularly difficult for pigs, says Stefano Salvarani, who is pig farmers’ representative for Confagricoltura, one of the main farmers’ associations. We have to breed animals with better care and pay the farmer higher prices.” Some of them are saying that they will be obliged to close 30% of farms … this is the future. “But of course the breeders sometimes have difficulty in understanding it. “It’s a positive action,” says Annamaria Pisapia of Compassion in World Farming Italy. This year it set up a working group, which has drawn up a three-year action plan to be implemented across each of Italy’s 3,000 breeding farms to improve conditions, thus avoiding the need to dock pigs’ tails. The Italian government acknowledges the scale of the problem. “Producers are routinely flaunting minimum legal requirements on animal welfare.” “However, it is an emblematic case, because Italian products such as Parma ham are associated with excellence,” points out the group’s veterinary adviser for farm animals, Elena Nalon. Italy is not unique in Europe for its high rates of tail-docking, say welfare campaigners Eurogroup for Animals. It’s just assumed that this kind of breeding leads to tail-biting, so they cut them off.” It’s impossible to know at that point if the group will behave in this way. “But tails are cut when the piglets are five days old. “In theory, in order for a vet to be able to dock a pig’s tail, they had to declare that there were lesions on the sow’s teats, or on the ears or tails of other pigs,” explains Enrico Moriconi, a former vet and now Piedmont’s animal rights ombudsman. So why are these regulations so broadly disregarded? ![]() Routine tail-docking is illegal under an EU directive, and although this legislation is not enforced across Europe, the practice is banned under Italian law. Studies have shown it causes acute trauma and pain, and can trigger infections and leave lasting discomfort.Ī 2014 EU report notes that the crowded, stressful conditions common on industrial-scale farms, in which pigs are unable to pursue their natural investigative behaviour, are the main trigger for tail-biting outbreaks. It’s well worth the time and reasonable price.Tail-docking – carried out without anaesthetic when the piglet is three to four days old – is intended to prevent the severe injuries that can occur when pigs bite each others’ tails. ![]() But if you like challenging games, then I heartily recommend Tails of Iron. You will have to fight multiple enemies at once and it can be pretty stressful. Just be prepared for intense combat that will really push your limits. If you think "Redwall meets Hollow Knight and Salt & Sanctuary," you’ll have a pretty good idea of what Tails of Iron is. A true 2D Souls-like, Salt & Sanctuary obviously had an impact on Tails of Iron. I’ve mentioned Hollow Knight, but another game that I thought of while playing was Salt & Sanctuary. Tails of Iron should appeal to fans of brutal side-scrolling action games. You don’t really lose out on any story beats the narrator fills in the gaps for you. This won’t be to everyone’s liking, but it’s pretty minor. The characters all communicate (to you) through pictographs and wordless noises. In fact, there’s no written dialogue at all. Other than Cockle’s narration, there is no voice acting in the game.
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