- The CEO of Animal Equality UK, along with photographer Aitor Garmendia, released heartbreaking footage from Cross Farm, a Red Tractor certified pig farm in the South West of England.
- The mother pigs were locked in farrowing crates, unable to turn around, and their piglets were mutilated without anesthesia.
- The investigation found dead piglets, unsanitary conditions and evidence of psychological stress in the herd.
- Cross Farm, which was previously found to have engaged in similar abuse in 2017, continues to operate despite its history and recent findings.
- Animal Equality has partnered with a law firm to file a formal complaint, outlining potential violations of animal protection laws.
The CEO of Animal Equality UK – along with award-winning photographer Aitor Garmendia – uncovered animal suffering at a pig farm in the UK called Cross Farm. Despite its Red Tractor certification – which claims to ensure high standards of animal welfare – the farm’s practices appear to tell a different story.
Around 12,000 pigs are held on farms in the South West of England at any one time. Female pigs are kept in small cages called “farming crates”. These cages hold pregnant pigs just before giving birth and for several weeks after, usually for four to five weeks at a time. The cages are so small that the mother pigs cannot turn around. These pigs are subjected to constant confinement and stress, constantly giving birth to piglets destined for the British pork market. Eventually, the mother pigs are slaughtered.
Cross Farm supplies Tesco, one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains. The investigation’s findings, recently highlighted in Daily mail And Timeraise questions about the true value of the “high welfare” label. They also provide further evidence that a shift to a plant-based food system is needed.
Dead piglets, cages and decomposing carcasses
Animal Equality UK CEO Abigail Penny and a team of investigators visited the farm six times in 2023 and 2024. They captured more than 100 hours of footage.
They found:
- Piglets “hit” concrete walls with enough force to kill them
- Piglets have their tails docked and their teeth trimmed without anesthesia.
- A piglet was thrown across the barn by a worker.
- Piglets died all over the farm, documented deaths from starvation, disease or crushing.
- A bin full of dead piglets and rotting carcasses on the floor of the pen
- Mother pigs bite the bars of metal cages due to psychological stress.
- A pig got stuck under a metal bar while trying to turn around, suffering deep and bloody injuries.
- Sows with leg ulcers and genital injuries due to multiple births
- Filthy conditions in the barn, with cobwebs and dust everywhere
Having visited Cross Farm many times myself, I have seen the suffering of these animals first hand. I looked into the eyes of the mother pigs trapped in cages and their deep sadness will stay with me forever.
Abigail Penny, CEO, Animal Equality UK
Cross Farm won the National Pig Award in 2016 and 2017. This year, Adrian Russell–Director at Cross Farm–ran for an elected seat on the National Swine Association’s Pig Industry Group. Although he did not win, Adrian has worked in the pig industry for more than 30 years.
Cross Farm has been exposed for its disturbing practices before. In 2017, after receiving a tip from Animal Equality, they filmed pigs in dilapidated, dilapidated buildings, covered in liquid feces and lying in their own waste. Investigators also recorded pigs with their tails cut off, others with massive hernias, and pregnant pigs in concrete pens with nothing to keep them busy.
In March, Glass Wall Films released footage from another investigation of Cross Farm. Filmed in late 2023, the footage showed dead piglets and decomposing carcasses, pigs engaging in cannibalistic behavior due to stressful and unnatural conditions, pigs kept in cages with untreated injuries, and cramped, filthy conditions.
Make a formal complaint to the authorities
Animal Equality has instructed Advocates for Animals, a law firm, to lodge a formal complaint with the UK’s Trading Standards Agency and the Animal, Plant and Health Authority. Animal Equality believes there have been a number of potential breaches of the law, including the treatment and killing of piglets, untreated injuries to pigs, dead piglets, lack of stimulation for pigs in cages and unhygienic conditions found throughout the farm.
The potential breaches of animal welfare laws captured in the footage captured by Animal Equality are truly disturbing.
Taylor Mcleod, Attorney, Animal Advocate
Experts say this is a typical feature of the industry.
Animal Equality’s investigations consistently show that animals suffer for meat, and experts agree.
“Much of what we see here is typical of the whole industry… very little of pig farming in the UK is in the public eye,” said Dr Alice Brough, a vet who worked with pig farmers in the UK from 2015 to 2019.
Eva Read, a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics, agrees. She has studied commercial pig farming in the UK and pig vocal communication in France, and is familiar with typical British farming practices.
This footage is disturbing, not because it is an example of the extreme but rare horrors that can occur on British pig farms, but rather because it is not rare. I see it as standard practice and that should motivate us all to demand better.
Eva Read, PhD Candidate, London School of Economics and Political Science
Law enforcement is lacking in the UK
In 2022, Animal Equality and The Animal Law Foundation released a groundbreaking report on “Implementation issues”Our team found that less than 3% of the UK’s 290,000 farms are inspected each year and only 0.33% of complaints result in prosecution.
The report also revealed that nearly three-quarters of the pigs had their tails docked without pain medication to prevent tail-biting, a painful behaviour caused by stress, insufficient space and lack of stimulation.
Global response to cruelty in pig farming
The investigation highlights issues in pig farming that resonate globally. Animal Equality investigators have discovered piglet body parts scattered across farms in Italy, pig cannibalism in Spain, and serious, intentional abuse at one of the largest pig farms in Germany.
In the UK, previous investigations have found that piglet beaten to death in “high welfare” facilities.
Similar problems are rampant in the United States, where factory farms subject pigs to extreme confinement, painful procedures without anesthesia, and unsanitary conditions. Critics note that infrequent inspections and a lack of enforcement allow these illegal practices to continue.
Animal Equality needs your support to end cruelty in factory farming. By signing the US petition, you can support stronger regulations and a future where animals are respected and protected.
{firstname}, thank you for signing this petition to help animals.
Your voice is important as we create a world where all animals are respected and protected. Please help us continue to spread this message and please share this petition with your friends and family.
Share this petition
You can end this cruelty! Sign the petition calling for an end to factory farming in the United States.
You can also help save pigs by choosing plant-based protein for your next meal. The Love Veg program offers delicious, easy-to-make recipes that reduce the need for factory farmed products. Sign up for Love Veg to receive a downloadable copy of the cookbook and start your compassionate journey today!
SAVE ANIMALS FROM ABUSE
Pigs, cows, and other animals feel pain too and deserve to be protected from abuse.
You can protect these intelligent animals simply by choosing plant-based alternatives.
