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An extremely bitter tasting chemical compound discovered by Scottish scientists at Johnson Matthey has been awarded a Guinness world record for its huge and varied contribution to safety. The bitterest substance in the known universe forces people who ingest anything dangerous to spit it out immediately. You can detect its bitter taste at a ratio of one thimble-full to one swimming pool!
In particular, it has been added to sweet-smelling cleaning fluids and to anti-freeze which is appealing to some pets. However, its first application was to Danish pigs’ tails to stop them biting each other’s tails off. Bitrex in a cream applied to the tails solved the problem. Bitrex is itself harmless and is currently used in 60 countries.
Talking-up Scotland 
My father in law, who reared pigs used to hang chains from ceiling beams down into the breeding and feeding pens and this seemed to reduce the biting of tails. They would bite these.
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We used to keep a few pigs but they were out in the open. We did use farrowing crates at first, but decided it was cruel. Many animals are more intelligent than we give them credit for and easily get bored when confined, or kept in unnaturally high densities or in an environment that doesn’t provide them with stimulation. So they resort to feather pecking (birds, that is, not pigs – though our pigs did eat a lot of our turkeys once when the latter took a wrong turning and entered their paddock), tail-biting (many pigs have their tails docked in intensive systems), licking objects, pacing up and down a cage and other stress-induced behaviours.
In the end it comes down to price: high animal welfare is not compatible with rock-bottom cheap food.
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Didn’t that break their teeth?
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I heard, somewhere long ago etc etc, that pigs have a very strong bite. I await the correction.
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Eating turkeys? Pigs have tremendously strong jaws and teeth.
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The only thing they can’t stomach is Tories covered in Brexit(sic).
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Tell me ,if Bitrex had been applied to Britex would the tories have sooked so hard at it?
I’ll get my coat.
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I wonder if it really smells worse than Tories?
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Oh dear Brexit not Britex. The proof reader will have to do a refresher course but he will blame the spell checker 😚
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Got that. I was going to say something similar. ☺
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Hi John – Hope i’m not going off topic but I’ve been doing a bit of accidental research tonight which I thought might interest some readers.
I had noticed on WOS site that there had been a power fault which stopped the ‘Scottish Night’ disco at the Britnat Labour Conference in Brighton. I noticed that the disco was ‘sponsored’ by Scottish Power and that set me to looking into this relationship. (I hope i’m not wasting everyboy’s time and that this isn’t all ancient news to people – because I certainly was unaware of the surprisingly close relationship between Glasgow based Scottish Power and Britnat Labour Party (especially the Nort British accounting unit).
I checked the electoral commission site:
Political donations
Recorded by the Electoral Commission:
Date Name of donor Amount Donated to Subsidiary (parties only)
27/02/2001 Scottish Power (Sponsorship), Corporate and Central Services £1,500.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
06/12/2002 Scottish Power, 1 Atlantic Quay Company £5,000.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
01/06/2003 Scottish Power, 1 Atlantic Quay Company £1,500.00 Labour Party
Labour Students
09/10/2003 Scottish Power, 1 Atlantic Quay Company £4,000.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
30/09/2004 Scottish Power, 1 Atlantic Quay £5,000.00 Labour Party
Central Party
23/09/2004 Scottish Power, 1 Atlantic Quay Company £6,000.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
28/02/2005 Scottish Power Plc, 1 Atlantic Quay £4,000.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
28/02/2005 Scottish Power Plc, 1 Atlantic Quay £4,000.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
14/09/2005 Scottish Power Plc, 1 Atlantic Quay £7,000.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
16/03/2006 Scottish Power Plc, 1 Atlantic Way £3,000.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
02/11/2006 Scottish Power, 1 Atlantic Way £6,000.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
29/10/2007 Scottish Power Plc – Sponsorship, 1 Atlantic Way £6,000.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
04/08/2008 Scottish Power Plc – Sponsorship, 1 Atlantic Way £7,000.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
10/12/2009 Scottish Power Limited – Sponsorship, CASTLE HOUSE £7,000.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
01/10/2010 Scottish Power – Sponsorship, 1 Atlantic Quay £8,225.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
31/12/2010 Scottish Power UK Plc, 1 Atlantic Quay £14,000.00 Labour Party
Central Party
04/02/2011 Scottish Power, 1 Atlantic Quay, Robertson Street £2,937.50 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
07/10/2011 Scottish Power, 1 Atlantic Quay, Robertson Street £8,400.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
12/10/2012 Scottish Power, 1 Atlantic Quay, Robertson Street £8,400.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
23/08/2013 Scottish Power, 1 Atlantic Quay, Robertson Street £8,400.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
02/08/2013 Scottish Power UK Plc, 1 Atlantic Quay £14,000.00 Labour Party
Central Party
31/10/2014 Scottish Power, 1 Atlantic Quay, Robertson Street £8,400.00 Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
SOME FURTHER ‘DONATIONS’ TO LABOUR IN 2015 – 20116 (below):
C0242977 Labour Party Political Party £8,400.00 25/09/2015 Scottish Labour Party Scottish Power Sponsorship Company SC193794 G2 8SP Cash
NC0257123 Labour Party Political Party £8,400.00 16/09/2016 Scottish Labour Party Scottish Power Sponsorship Company SC193794 G2 8SP Non Cash Other
So – It is recorded by the Electoral Commission that between 26/02/2001 and 16/09/2016 Scottish Power had ‘donated’ (by my calculation) the not insignificant sum of £128,562.50 to the Labour Party.
The vast bulk has been donated as ‘cash’. (All but the 16/09/16 donation of £8,400 which was given as ‘non-cash’ services.
The vast bulk has been ‘donated’ to the Labour North British accounting unit (all but £5,000 which went to ‘Central Labour’ on 30/09/2004, and £1,500 which went to ‘Labour Students’ on 01/06/2003).
There was a curious double donation recorded on 28/02/2005 – each of £4,000 (was this to do with having to declare single sums above £5,000 or something? – I just don’t know)
Of the 22 payments I have managed to track 7 seemed to be classified as ‘sponsorship’ (presumably of events at labour conferences?).
In 2010 the Tories seemed to get agitated and demand their share of the ‘donations’ too. Between December 2010 and December 2015 the ever generous Scottish Power ‘donated’ some £40,000 in cash to the ‘central’ Tory Party (See below):
21/12/2010 – £14,000 cash
02/08/2013 – £14,000 cash
21/12/2015 – £12,000 cash
So – between February 2001 and September 2016 the Glasgow based Scottish Power gave Labour £128, 562.50 (by my addition)
between December 2010 and Decenmber 2015 the same Glasgow based Scottish Power gave the Tories £40,000
Interesting that this generous funding arrangement applied only to the Labour and Tory duopoly?
Those of us who pay our bills to Scottish Power might legitimately wonder why £168, 562.50 of our bill payments were going to the Conservative Labour Party?
Maybe those of us who pay our bills to Scottish Power maybe ought to email their Customer Relations Dept and make an enquiry?
Many thanks, ludo
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Hi John – apologies all – i was suffering eye-strain and managed not to count a payment from Scottish Power to ‘central’ labour Party on 31/12/2010 of £14,000. By my (new ) calculations that means Scottish Power have ‘donated’ £142,562.50 to Labour (between Feb 2001 and September 2016) and £40 to Tories (between December 2010 and December 2015)
Altogether £182,562.50 to the Conservative labour Party
– Apologies once again for my tired eyes.
Thanks, Ludo
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Sorry all – the ‘donation’ to the Tories should read £40,000 (not the £40 in the previous post!) – Tired eyes – time for bed!!, Thanks, Ludo
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