As happy as a pig in sh*t !!

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Geo: 16.3833, 103.933

Just after 08:00 we are on our way, with George and Wan, into Phon Thong then along the Roi Et for a few miles to the outskirts of the village of Ban Kut Sa where some friends Terry and Pim live. We have only met them a couple of times and this is the first time we have been to their house but on arrival the gates were locked and there was nobody home except for a couple of large rottweillers patrolling the garden. We decided to wait outside until they got back !!
We all sit in the house for a while chatting and putting the world right then drive out to their pig farm off the Seraphum Road. They currently have about 500 pigs and a few hundred piglets in two large barns. They have to satisfy certain requirements to support their contract with the food supplier and purchaser of their livestock. Each shed is fitted with double doors with a sort of airlock between them (unfortunately this is not the only point of access to the sheds and the entrances most frequently used only have one door ? We remove our shoes and wade through a chemical wash before putting on sexy wellies, washing our hands and then entering the first shed. There are pigs everywhere. They are held in individual cages where they can just about stand up but not walk and certainly not turn around. As soon as the piglets are born they have their front teeth removed with a pair of pliers so they cant bite mum and their tails docked. If they are little boy piggies then they have the pleasure of having their bits and pieces removed as well !! This is followed by a series of vaccinations. All looks a bit brutal to me but not brutal enough to put me off pork !! We stop and buy some fresh fish and BBQ chicken on the way back and eat lunch at Terry and PIm's before biking back to Khamnadie mid afternoon.
Change clothes immediately upon our arrival at the house and out to the farm to give water and clear and burn off a bit more grass. This is starting to feel like a never ending job !!

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