🐖 Pigs
Pigs in factory farming often live in cramped, barren concrete pens with no daylight. Breeding sows are frequently confined in narrow crates (“gestation crates”), unable to turn around for weeks or months. Piglets are usually weaned very early and undergo painful procedures like tail docking and castration—often without anesthesia. These conditions cause chronic stress and frustration, as pigs cannot express natural behaviors.
🟠 SDG conflict: Factory farming can conflict with e.g. SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) of animals and indirectly of humans as well. It also shows how SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) may be compromised through wasteful feed systems and manure runoff. Deforestation for feed crops contributes to climate change (SDG 13 – Climate Action) and biodiversity loss (SDG 15 – Life on Land). The animal suffering challenges the values behind SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
🐔 Hens
In battery cage systems, laying hens are often packed tightly—hundreds per shed—with little room to move, stretch their wings, or dust-bathe. Their beaks are commonly trimmed to reduce injuries caused by stress pecking. Most hens live in artificial light cycles and produce eggs until they are considered “spent” and are culled. They often stand on wire mesh or metal grates, which can injure their feet, cause sores, and make resting painful.
🟠 SDG conflict: This system illustrates how factory farming may conflict with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), by increasing disease risk and causing continuous discomfort through poor living conditions. It also raises concerns for SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), due to overproduction and monoculture feed crops. Soy cultivation linked to these systems contributes to ecosystem degradation (SDG 15 – Life on Land). Institutionalized animal distress also stands in tension with SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
🦢 Geese
Geese used for foie gras are often kept in small indoor enclosures and subjected to force-feeding via tubes (gavage) multiple times per day to enlarge their livers. This process can cause pain, injury, and distress, and prevents geese from expressing natural behaviors such as foraging or swimming. They also often stand on wire flooring or metal grates that injure their feet, causing swelling, open wounds, or deformities over time.
🟠 SDG conflict: This is a clear example of how factory farming practices may conflict with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), when cruelty is accepted for luxury food. It also highlights issues under SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), as the process is both resource-intensive and ethically problematic. Related feed production affects SDG 15 (Life on Land), and the institutional acceptance of force-feeding and poor housing raises questions under SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
🐑 Sheep
Sheep are often kept in crowded housing and sheared under stressful conditions. Some undergo mulesing—the removal of skin around the tail area—without pain relief, to prevent flystrike. Overcrowding and limited outdoor access can lead to hoof issues, stress, and illness.
🟠 SDG conflict: This situation shows how certain forms of sheep farming can stand in conflict with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), due to the stress and suffering involved. It also illustrates tensions with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), given the environmental impact of wool production. Overgrazing and habitat degradation connect to SDG 15 (Life on Land), and harsh conditions for both animals and workers may raise concerns under SDG 8 (Decent Work) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
🐄 Cows
Dairy cows are often housed in tight indoor spaces and milked several times a day by machines. In most systems, calves are separated from their mothers shortly after birth, which can cause distress for both. In Bavaria and other countries it is legal to chain cows their whole lives.
Beef cattle are frequently raised in feedlots—large, open-air pens with minimal shelter. In some systems, cows undergo painful procedures such as disbudding (removal of horn buds), sometimes without adequate pain relief.
🟠 SDG conflict: Cow farming may come into conflict with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), through both physical strain on animals and the emotional impact of practices like early separation. It also challenges SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) due to water usage and manure runoff. Emissions from cattle farming contribute to climate change (SDG 13 – Climate Action), while feed production can displace natural habitats (SDG 15 – Life on Land). Ethical concerns about animal treatment also relate to SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
🐕 Dogs
Dogs are used in research facilities, often these are beagles due to their docile nature. These dogs typically spend most of their lives in cages and are used in tests that may involve forced chemical exposure, implants, or disease modeling. Some are bred to carry genetic disorders. Most are euthanized after experiments.
Furthermore, dogs are bred to produce puppies which can be sold at high prices. Puppies that are not being sold are euthanized when they become to old.
🟠 SDG conflict: The use of dogs in laboratory testing is one example of how animal experimentation can be at odds with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), especially when humane alternatives are available. It also reflects challenges in achieving SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), when innovation fails to replace outdated models. The lack of ethical oversight or transparency in some countries can also be viewed as a conflict with SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
🐎 Horses
Horses are often bred for racing or other performance sports. Many are subjected to intensive training at a young age. Competitive events expose horses to high physical stress, and injuries are common. When no longer profitable, they are sometimes slaughtered.
🟠 SDG conflict: This is an example of how profit-driven use of animals in sport can conflict with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), by subjecting animals to avoidable suffering. Emissions from long transport routes contribute to SDG 13 (Climate Action), and performance-focused breeding systems often ignore animal health, raising concerns around SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
🐴 Donkeys
Donkeys are widely used in many parts of the world for carrying heavy loads, often over long distances and without adequate rest, food, or medical care. In some countries, they are also used for milk production, which puts significant stress on animals not adapted to intensive milking. Perhaps most alarmingly, millions of donkeys are slaughtered every year for the production of ejiao, a gelatin made from their skin. This has led to declining donkey populations, illegal trade networks, and widespread inhumane killing methods.
🟠 SDG conflict: This complex situation is one of many ways factory-like treatment of donkeys can conflict with multiple SDGs. It highlights risks to animal well-being and public ethics (SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being), contributes to population collapse (SDG 15 – Life on Land), undermines decent livelihoods (SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth), and operates largely without regulation, which contradicts the goals of SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). The resource-heavy nature of this exploitation also links to SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).
🐇 Rabbits
Rabbits are often kept in factory farms for meat or fur or for animal testing. They are usually housed in small wire cages, often stacked in rows inside dark barns. These cages restrict movement and prevent natural behaviors such as digging, hopping, or social grooming. The wire mesh floors can cause painful foot injuries, sores, and infections. Rabbits are highly sensitive animals, and stress from confinement, noise, and lack of stimulation often leads to illness or death before slaughter.
🟠 SDG conflict: Intensive rabbit farming can conflict with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), by subjecting animals to chronic stress and pain. Wire flooring and overcrowded conditions may also create hygiene problems. The system often prioritizes efficiency over welfare, raising concerns under SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The lack of recognition for rabbits as sentient animals challenges the spirit of SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
🐐 Goats
Goats are used in various intensive systems for milk, meat, and sometimes fiber. In many commercial dairies, they are kept in concrete pens with little access to pasture. Baby goats are often separated from their mothers shortly after birth, which is distressing. In some systems, goats undergo painful procedures such as disbudding (removal of horn buds), sometimes without adequate pain relief. Overcrowding, unnatural flooring, and lack of enrichment can lead to injuries and behavioral problems.
🟠 SDG conflict: These conditions illustrate how goat farming may come into tension with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), due to the combination of physical pain and emotional stress in animals. The industrial focus on maximizing milk output can also conflict with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), particularly when animals‘ needs are deprioritized. Ethical concerns around the treatment of both kids and adult goats highlight the relevance of SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
