Pig Farm Slammed For Tormenting Animals 12/02/2021

A French pig farm connected to several major British supermarket chains has been accused of animal cruelty following the release of new covert footage. In light of the investigation, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, and Iceland have been urged to stop selling Herta Frankfurters. Animal welfare group L214 captured the footage on a farm in the north of France throughout August and September. The farm keeps more than 20,000 pigs captive, and is contracted to supply Herta. The world’s largest food company, Nestlé, owns 40 percent of the Herta brand. The investigation uncovered consistent violations of animal welfare regulations on the farm. This included slamming weak piglets on the floor to kill them, not giving pregnant sows in cages permanent access to water, and castrating male piglets by ripping off the tissue – without anesthetic. Workers also clipped piglets’ teeth with pliers, despite not trying other measures to prevent tail biting amongst the animals. Farmers docked all piglets’ tails, which is forbidden to do on a regular basis, and were seen beating sows. Further, pigs were living in cramped sow stalls, barely able to move. Sow stalls have been banned in the UK since 1999, but are still legal in France during part of the gestation period. (plantbasednews.org)