Texas pigs are more comfortable than prison inmates and staff, according to a recent lawsuit filed on behalf of prisoners.

The state’s penitentiary system relies on inmate labor to raise its own pigs, and has recently decided to spend $750,000 on extensive climate control systems to regulate temperatures in the large barns, The Houston Chronicle reports. However, this luxury is not afforded to prison facilities, where temperatures can hover around 120 degrees.

"Right now, there's just fans blowing around very hot air — if there's fans at all," said Lance Rowly, president of a local union representing correctional officers. "It's incredibly hot and dangerous, especially when you consider the officers and inmates who are on heat-sensitive medication."

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The decision to install climate control in pig farms but not prison facilities has garnered excoriating criticism from legal representatives and organizations, who note that in the past six years, at least 14 inmates have died from complications brought on or exacerbated by extreme heat. A recent example is Rodney Adams, who died in August 2012 after he was detained for driving under the influence. Adams had been administered heat-sensitive medication, and his body temperature was reported at 109.9 degrees when he was found.

“The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has literally made the decision that protecting its bacon is more important than protecting human lives," quipped Scott Medlock, the Austin, Texas civil rights attorney who filed the lawsuit. Medlock’s will be the sixth suit brought against Texas prison officials over heat in correctional facilities.

However, other advocacy groups cite deeper issues, blaming the hot conditions on restrictive legislature and insufficient funds.

“TDCJ has nothing to do with the air conditioning until legislation comes forth and puts money out to do things,” said Robert Elzner, member of the Texas Inmates Families Association's board of directors. He noted that so far, the public has not been willing to foot the bill, and the department is “just trying to maintain their head above water” right now.

Pigs and Prisoners Comparison 'Ridiculous,' Officials Say

Meanwhile, department officials shrug off claims that the pigs’ housing situation is in any way superior to the inmates’, with Deputy Director Bryan Collie calling Medlock’s comparison “ridiculous and outrageous.” According to him, the pig barns don’t have "air conditioning ... it's a climate-controlled environment," and the $750,000 misters and fans are “nothing new.”

He noted that previous barns have been outfitted with similar systems, and that they are “consistent with the industry standard for swine operations."