Animal Segregation: The Biopolitics of Concentrated Pig Farming

Abstract This paper explores the possibility to think through the concept of animal segregation to understand the more‐than‐human geographies of livestock animals. By redirecting the analytical tools for studying the spatial separation of humans to the segregation of animals, this paper contributes to understanding the geographical processes of concentration in the agro‐industrial complex and provokes critical thought of what this approach entails for studying lived space of the (more‐than‐) human. Applying spatial segregation measures to the distribution of pigs and humans in the Netherlands, this paper gauges the developments of intensive livestock farming in one of the world’s main hubs for production of animal proteins. It shows an increasing concentration of pigs within and across regions as well as rising segregation of pigs from humans. It suggests that segregation is part of a broader spatial biopolitics of containment and control, enabling and making acceptable the keeping and killing of animals.