Winnipeg Humane Society asked to leave fair over hog display

The Winnipeg Humane Society was kicked out of the Hanover Ag Fair this weekend after it set up pig cages to show people what the animals experience on farms.

In a statement posted online on Aug. 16, the Hanover Ag Fair said the humane society was given a vendor space in “good faith,” with fair organizers assuming the group would only promote its pet adoption programs.

“However, that is not the display that has been presented therefore they have been asked to leave,” the statement said.

The display included a replica paper mache pig in a gestation crate and a full-sized version that people could stand inside at the tent. Gestation crates are narrow cages that house individual female pigs for breeding and during pregnancy. When the sows give birth, they’re moved to a slightly larger farrowing crate to accommodate the piglets feeding.

Sows can often spend months at a time in the cages, with little room to move and often develop joint pain and arthritis, said Krista Boryskavich, an animal lawyer and director of animal advocacy for the Winnipeg Human Society.

Fair organizers told the the humane society that the display “went against their values,” said Boryskavich, adding there was miscommunication between both parties about what the booth would show.

“This is an important issue that deserves dialog and to be asked to leave just because our position might have been different from their position was very disappointing that dialog was just shut down,” she said.

Boryskavich said the humane society has brought the display to festivals for decades. This summer it was already shown at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival and the Manitoba Sunflower Festival in Altona. No concerns were raised at both locations, she said.

While some festival-goers at Hanover Ag Fair didn’t agree with the presentation, Boryskavich said the conversations were respectful and people were receptive to the info.

In 2014, the National Farm Animal Care Council, Canadian Pork Council and the federal government created the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs. The code laid out a goal to phase out the gestation crates and replace it with open housing for the female pigs by 2024.

That deadline was extended to 2029, in hopes 100 percent of pork producers in Canada will adopt the practice. Nearly 60 percent of Manitoba farms have already shifted to open housing, a spokesperson for the Manitoba Pork Council said.

They said Manitoba is the only province in Canada that has adopted the federal code in its Animal Care Act and the provincial Chief Veterinary Officer can enforce its recommendations.

Boryskavich said displays are timely because the pig code will be up for public consultation and discussion in 2026. The humane society wanted to offer education so people could be informed if they wanted to participate in the commentary, she added.

“We were coming to have dialog, and we were coming to provide some education and some information. We certainly were not coming to cause controversy,” Boryskavich said. “But unfortunately, that appears to be the result.”

The Hanover Ag Fair didn’t respond to requests for an interview.