.png?trim=0,200,0,200&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800 "Tesco, Asda and Morrisons axe supplier after secret farm footage shows piglets beaten to death – UK Times")
Workers have been filmed violently killing piglets by slamming them against concrete floors at a third farm owned by a major supermarket meat supplier after the firm promised it had banned the practice.
Secret cameras captured staff illegally killing young animals by “blunt-force trauma” at a farm owned by Cranswick, Britain’s biggest pig producer, which supplies retailers with products including bacon and ham.
Some animals were left writhing in agony and slowly dying over 20 minutes, according to activists who investigated Mere Farm, Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire.
The video shows workers kicking aside piglets with head injuries that had been “thumped” this way.
Tesco, Asda and Morrisons suspended the farm when The Independent showed them the footage, and Cranswick sacked four staff.
The company says it has introduced changes to reduce cruelty since much of the footage was taken, including installing hundreds of cameras on its 45 farms and retraining staff.
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But one worker seen in the latest footage, who was later sacked, had completed his training only around 10 days earlier.
It’s the third of the company’s farms in under five months where staff have been found inflicting painful deaths and suffering on pigs.
In May, workers were seen “slamming” piglets to death at North Moor Farm, Lincolnshire. The company said it launched an investigation, then at its July AGM said it had banned this killing technique.
In August, covert filming at Somerby Top Farm, also in Lincolnshire, showed workers hitting pigs with boards, paddles and fists.
Supermarkets said they cut ties with Somerby Top, and Cranswick said it was recruiting five new animal-welfare officers and introducing AI surveillance.
However, animal-welfare organisation Animal Justice Project (AJP) has now revealed that in footage shot in July – two months after Cranswick said it had banned “thumping” – workers were still killing piglets by grabbing their hind legs and slamming them on concrete.
Until the practice was outlawed, piglets deemed too small to be profitable were routinely killed this way on UK farms.
The activists said equally horrifying video clips showed a trapped sow being violently abused.
Unable to get up after giving birth, the animal was allegedly left without water for over 24 hours and food for more than 54 hours.
Workers repeatedly attacked the sow, kicking her with their boots on, pulling her head with ropes, treading on her side and prodding her with a sharp shovel, the footage shows.
One worker even stood on her side with his full weight. Finally, they pulled her with ropes bound around her legs.
The investigators also said they filmed nine piglets being thumped over four days and none were checked for signs of life.
They said they filmed:
- One piglet thrashed in agony for up to nine minutes, ignored by staff, and another showed signs of life for 20 minutes
- Filthy, overcrowded sheds, with almost 200 sows in farrowing crates, many with wounds, pressure sores, cuts and scratches
- Dead piglets among the living
- Animals allegedly suffered infections, diarrhoea, necrosis and open wounds. One with a ruptured eyeball was allegedly ignored.
Workers were filmed saying: “Bloody hell, I’d expect this to be dead” and “Think she’s gonna die anyway, let her f***ing die, innit”.
AJP said footage in March showed identical practices, “suggesting this is not isolated but systemic”.
The organisation says it’s planning legal action for Animal Welfare Act breaches.
A Cranswick spokesman said: “The behaviour depicted is wholly unacceptable and clearly breaches our values, standards and animal-welfare practices.
“Much of the material appears to pre-date the significant reforms we have been implementing, including an update to our welfare standards and the installation of AI-enabled CCTV systems.
“We will continue to work to improve the culture and practices at our farms. The individuals filmed at Mere Farm were all dismissed as soon as we saw the footage.”
A Tesco spokesperson said it suspended the farm immediately pending a thorough investigation. “Any failure to meet our high welfare standards is unacceptable and we take swift action where necessary,” they said.
Asda said it immediately suspended supply from finisher farms supplied by Mere Farm.
A Morrisons spokesperson said the company was deeply saddened by the footage and suspended it, adding: “We welcome and support Cranswick’s immediate investigation.”
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson branded the mistreatment “appalling and inexcusable”, adding: “It goes against Sainsbury’s values and standards in every respect.” They said they were in close contact with Cranswick about the fundamental overhaul of its sites, including Mere Farm.
Ayrton Cooper, of Animal Justice Project, said consumers were tired of being misled over “empty high-welfare claims”.
An Animal and Plant Health Agency spokesperson said: “We will always take appropriate action where non-compliances with welfare regulations are found.”
North Lincolnshire Trading Standards said it was investigating.
Animal Justice Project is calling for an independent public inquiry into pig farming.
