Pigs do feel pain when slaughtered.
When pigs are slaughtered the pigs are often stunned using electrical stunning or CO2 gas, which can fail sometimes or they are poorly executed, which leads to the pigs being conscious while being bled, which also causes the pigs intense suffering, struggles and screams.
Laws aim for humane stunning of pigs to prevent pain, but the reality involves inhumane conditions, as well as overcrowding and stress from transport and ineffective stunning, which makes the process of slaughtering pigs painful and frightening.
Electrical stunning requires precise application to induce immediate unconsciousness, and if it's too weak or brief the pigs remain aware.
And high concentrations of carbon dioxide are also highly irritating and cause extreme pain in the pigs respiratory tract and intense distress before they go unconscious.
If the pigs are not effectively stunned, the pigs can experience terror and pain when slaughtered as the pigs throats are cut, and they bleed out.
Overcrowding and rough handling as well as loud noises before the pigs are slaughtered also causes the pigs immense fear and stress, which can also intensify the pain responses.
Pigs are often slaughtered at 22 weeks for bacon.
Bacon is often made out of piglets as most piglets are slaughtered for bacon at around 22 weeks of age.
Pigs that are reared for smaller pork joints are often killed at around 15 weeks to 16 weeks of age.
And pigs that are reared for bacon are usually slaughtered or killed at around 22 weeks of age.
Bacon is sometimes also adult pigs as well.
Pigs are slaughtered at different ages, although generally they can be divided into piglets, which are 1.5 months to 3 months of age.
And the fattening of pigs that are intended for pork and bacon, which are 4 months to one year old.
And older pigs, like sows "female pigs" and boars, which are uncastrated male pigs.
Bacon is reserved for the cured pork belly cut of a pig.
The bacon is a cured meat from various fatty parts of pigs, which is primarily from the pork belly also known as streaky bacon, although the loin, "back bacon/Canadian bacon" or even shoulder, with the specific cut of meat from the pig, defining the type of bacon, which is all derived from swine.
Pork belly is the most common sauce of bacon, which gives American style streaky bacon with alternating fat and meat.
Pork loin is the back of the pig and is used for Canadian bacon, which is a leaner and rounder cut of meat.
Pork Jowl/Cheek is for jowl bacon.
And pork shoulder/butt is used for cottage bacon or collar bacon.
Bacon is made by curing the pork cut, which is usually belly with salt, sugar, nitrites and other flavorings, like maple, smoke etc through dry curing or brining.
And after curing the meat, it's often smoked, chilled, pressed, sliced thin and packaged.