The Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) partnered with legislator Tsai Pei-Hui to unveil an exposé into the live auction of pigs in Taiwan, shedding light on widespread animal cruelty and food safety risks. EAST called on the government to phase out the live auction of pigs and adopt a modern carcass grading system which aligns with global standards of animal welfare, meat quality, and food safety.

 

Currently, most pork consumption in Taiwan involves the live auction of pigs. Merchants at auctions select live pigs based on physical attributes such as fat distribution, body conditions, overall appearance, and more. This long-held traditional practice stems from consumer preference for fresh, ‘warm’ meat over chilled or frozen options. However, live auctions cause significant animal suffering, subjecting approximately 85% of pigs in Taiwan to severe distress during the transport, handling, and auction process. This outdated system poses serious animal welfare concerns and hinders the modernization of Taiwan’s pork industry. The severe stress experienced by these animals can adversely affect meat quality, pose food safety risks, and remove incentives for farmers to adopt better farming practices.

 

 

 

According to EAST research associate, Yu-Min Chen, Taiwan’s current live auction system began in the 1970s. The original intent was to prevent traditional meat merchants from applying monopolistic practices which would in turn exploit other pig farmers. In 1974, the first live auctions began in Chiayi in southwestern Taiwan and have since become the dominant method of selling pigs at 21 of Taiwan’s wholesale meat markets. The only exceptions to this practice are the carcass grading methods used in Penghu and live bargaining –without the usage of computerized systems – seen in the Kinmen Islands.

 

 

What are the problems with “live auction”?

 

I. Severe impact on pig welfare

 

 

1. Transportation

 

Each year, approximately 7 million pigs are traded through live auctions in Taiwan. Once pigs are raised and ready for market, pig farmers work with transporters to deliver the animals to various meat markets for auction. While most pig farms are located in central and southern Taiwan, consumption is concentrated in densely populated northern cities where auction prices tend to be higher. This leads to a phenomenon known as the "south-to-north transport" of pigs. In extreme cases, pigs are sent on an arduous journey to eastern Taiwan for live auction. According to research statistics, over 60% of pigs in Taiwan are transported to other regions for live auction, significantly increasing transportation-related stress.

Due to a lack of local pig farms, meat traders in the Kinmen and Penghu archipelagos purchase pigs from Taiwan's main island and transport them – live – across the rough seas. Kinmen typically transports pigs from Kaohsiung’s meat market, while Penghu relies on markets in Yunlin and Chiayi counties.

Before being transported, pigs are deprived of food for extended periods of time. This is done to prevent vomiting during live transportation. For longer journeys, transporters often start the trip the night before to avoid traffic and ensure timely arrival, leaving pigs without food for up to 24 hours. Transport vehicles are generally equipped with only railings and lack protective shelter. In winter, pigs endure freezing temperatures, while in summer, they are exposed to intense heat. The transportation process can cause issues such as heatstroke, fractures, vomiting, stress, or even sudden death. Mixing of unfamiliar groups during transport may also spark aggression between animals. Each year, an estimated 6,600 to 21,000 pigs in Taiwan die from transport-related causes.
 

 

 

2. Handling and holding

Pigs often arrive at the meat market stressed and exhausted, but are forced to endure improper and often violent handling. The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) mandates that all member countries adopt humane guidelines for transport and handling. These include bans on harmful tools and prohibitions against poking sensitive areas like the eyes, anus, or genitals. While some Taiwanese meat markets employ tools like boards or flags to improve animal welfare, studies show that electric prods and spiked sticks are still the dominant tools. This causes frightened pigs to pile up, screaming, as they are driven into holding pens. There, unfamiliar pigs are mixed, sparking fights fueled by fear and distress. Poor pen designs often deprive pigs of clean drinking water, forcing them to lap dirty water from the floor.

 

2. Prodded, shocked and beaten

Before the auction begins, meat market employees hold a lottery to determine the auction order. Pigs are then herded from various pens into the auction raceway, typically a semicircular path where the bidding takes place. Each pig is forced to enter the narrow, slippery raceway. The passage is lined with gates which open and close loudly, frightening the pigs and causing them to stop or retreat. The pigs often pile up on top of one another, creating congestion. Pigs, which use their sensitive snouts for rooting and seeking food, frequently bump into the gates, causing them to squeal in pain. When the gates reopen, frightened pigs are often reluctant to move forward, prompting workers to use electric prods or sticks. Improper use of electric prods can cause stress, injury, fractures, shock, or even death.
 

 

 

In addition, to mark ownership, buyers use ‘branding stamps’ with dozens of sharp metal spikes. These are hammered into the pigs’ backs without anesthesia, causing immense bleeding and pain.

 

The number of pigs slaughtered at each market ranges from 230 to 2,800 each day. The demand for ‘warm’, freshly-slaughtered meat sees markets process 300–400 pigs an hour until the early hours of the morning to meet the daily demand. Time pressures and harsh working conditions exacerbate the fear and distress experienced by pigs during the auctions, causing many to collapse or die under the strain.

 

II. Live auctions undermine epidemic prevention

According to Yu-Min Chen, the live auction system severely compromises animal welfare and undermines epidemic prevention. People, vehicles, and pigs from all over Taiwan mix daily in meat markets, creating an ideal environment for cross-infection and disease transmission. Europe has abandoned live auctions because they hinder food traceability, violate animal welfare, compromise meat hygiene and safety, and are not conducive to epidemic prevention.

 

III. Live auctions discourage farmers from improving farming practices

At live auctions, prices are determined by appearance instead of meat quality, making it difficult for pigs raised with higher animal welfare standards, better management practices, or antibiotic-free certifications to fetch higher prices. This removes incentives for farmers to improve farming practices, in addition to hindering traceability efforts. 

Many pig farmers have expressed that pigs raised without antibiotics or with food quality certifications receive the same prices as those of other farmers in the auction market, offering no additional incentives. This fundamentally obstructs traceability efforts. Last year, pig farmer Yu-Song Zheng, who was awarded the Shennong Award by the Council of Agriculture, stated in an interview that his pigs are not favored under the current live auction system because their body shapes are less slender and muscular, despite having excellent meat quality. As a result, they are difficult to sell at high prices and he sometimes incurs losses. In spite of his challenges, Zheng believes that "pig farming is an honorable profession" and refuses to use ractopamine to increase lean muscle growth. While not the intention, Taiwan's live auction system's singular focus on outwards appearance may encourage the uptake of ractopamine by farmers.

As Taiwan mulls joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and opening up to U.S. pork imports, the government should abolish live auctions in favor of a modern carcass grading system to more accurately reward meat quality, stimulate modernization of the agriculture sector, and enhance the resilience of domestic producers.

 

The myth of ‘warm meat’

Many consumers believe that ‘warm meat’ – freshly slaughtered meat that has not undergone refrigeration – is fresher, more hygienic, and tastes better. This misconception underpins the live auction system. However, ‘warm meat’ is neither fresh nor hygienic. An estimated 300-400 pigs per hour are slaughtered at meat markets each night, then transported to traditional markets for sale in the morning. By the time consumers make their purchase in the morning or noon, the meat has been unrefrigerated for periods of up to ten hours – sometimes longer. In Taiwan's hot and humid summer, the meat becomes a breeding ground for bacteria.

When transported from meat markets to traditional markets, carcasses are often stacked or hung on trucks without refrigeration or packaging. In many cases, even the truck's canopy is left uncovered, leaving the meat exposed to contamination for the duration of the journey.

 

Taiwan’s live auction system demands urgent reform

Legislator Tsai Pei-Hui stated that the pig farming industry is an essential part of Taiwan's agriculture sector. Ensuring animal welfare during breeding, transportation, and slaughter will prevent quality degradation, protect consumer health, and ensure food safety.

Transitioning to carcass grading allows pigs to be slaughtered and graded at local facilities, then transported refrigerated or frozen to traditional markets and processing facilities. This change can reduce costs and energy use, minimize the stress and pain experienced by pigs, and preserve the quality achieved during farming. Using post-slaughter grading to determine prices enables meat quality to be recognized, rewarding farmers for raising high-quality pigs.

The new government should propose a concrete plan and timeline to replace the live auction system with carcass grading, enhancing animal welfare, consumer health and food safety, epidemic prevention, industry advancement and product quality.

 The plan should feature the following:

1. Convene industry stakeholders to establish carcass grading and pricing mechanisms
2. Pilot carcass transactions, and review and evaluate outcomes
3. Assess the social impacts of labor adjustments and the transition to a new transaction method
4. Establish a refrigerated, direct sale supply chain

Promote consumer education to support the adoption of pork carcass grading and improve animal welfare
 

 

Translated by Alysia Huang