UK supermarkets suspend supplies from Lincolnshire pig farm over cruelty claims

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons person suspended supplies from a Lincolnshire pig workplace linked to amerciable maltreatment of pigs.

Secretly filmed footage has shown workplace workers astatine Northmoor Farm appearing to drawback piglets by their hind legs and smashing them connected to the hard level – a banned method of sidesplitting known arsenic blunt unit trauma or “piglet thumping”.

Other harrowing footage from the workplace owned by 1 of the UK’s biggest pig nutrient producers, Cranswick, showed a sow being kicked and beaten with metallic bars, arsenic good arsenic a botched sidesplitting that near an carnal writhing successful agony, arsenic archetypal reported by the Mail connected Sunday.

One idiosyncratic who failed to termination a sow with respective shots from a bolt gun, reportedly told an undercover investigator: “Don’t fto cipher spot you doing similar what we did [sic].”

The footage astatine the farm, which houses astir 6,000 pigs successful cramped cages, was captured implicit respective weeks past twelvemonth by an undercover researcher for the carnal rights organisation Animal Justice Project (AJP).

AJP has filed a ceremonial ailment to Trading Standards, citing aggregate breaches of the Welfare of Animals astatine the Time of Killing regulations.

Claire Palmer, the laminitis of AJP, said the radical was aiming to show “the convulsive realities of pig farming successful Britain”.

Undercover footage released contiguous by the carnal rights organisation Animal Justice Project successful the Mail On Sunday aims to ‘expose the realities of pig farming to the British public’. Photograph: Animal Justice Project

“We are demanding contiguous enforcement of the prohibition connected blunt unit trauma and the prosecution of Cranswick. There indispensable beryllium an autarkic nationalist enquiry into pig farming practices and regulatory failures.”

Piglets are regularly killed arsenic portion of the nutrient accumulation process – if they are weak, sick oregon not increasing accelerated capable to beryllium profitable. However, determination are strict rules astir the methods used.

The usage of blunt unit trauma to termination piglets nether 10kg was outlawed successful 2022 aft warnings from the UK’s Animal Welfare Committee and the EU’s Reference Centre for Animal Welfare. Both said the method was unreliable, inhumane, and unnecessary fixed disposable alternatives, including captive bolt guns.

Cranswick said the full squad astatine the workplace had been suspended portion an probe takes place, arsenic required by law.

A Cranswick spokesperson said: “The payment of the animals we rear is of the utmost value and we are highly disappointed to spot the unacceptable lapse of payment standards captured astatine Northmoor Farm.

“As soon arsenic we saw the footage, we instantly suspended the squad moving astatine the workplace and we are conducting an urgent and thorough investigation. We person besides suspended the workplace from supplying immoderate pigs until the probe is completed.”

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda each confirmed they had suspended supplies from the workplace portion an probe was carried out.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We instrumentality each reports of mediocre carnal payment highly earnestly and expect each our suppliers to adhere to our precocious payment standards.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said, “These allegations impact unacceptable attraction of animals, which has nary spot successful our proviso chain.”

Morrisons said: “We attraction profoundly astir carnal payment and these are shocking and concerning allegations. We recognize that Cranswick are investigating urgently.”

An Asda spokesperson: “We person wide carnal payment policies that each our
suppliers indispensable uphold and we invited the swift effect and enactment taken
by Cranswick astatine this farm.”