May 23, 2018 10.10 am This story is over 70 months old

Footage shows workers beating pigs on Lincolnshire farm

Please beware, distressing footage
Pigs are shown beaten and abused in undercover footage provided by Animal Equality. Photo: Animal Equality

Animal Equality campaigners released shocking undercover footage which shows pigs beaten and squealing in pain on one of Lincolnshire’s biggest farms.

The charity filmed over 100 incidents of cruelty on Fir Tree pig farm near Barton-Upon-Humber, over just ten days after an anonymous tip off had warned them about what was happening.

The incidents included kicking pigs in the face and head, jabbing them with pitchforks and spraying marker paint directly up their noses.

Fir Tree Farm is owned by the Godfrey family along with company Elsham Linc Ltd and is home to 10,000 pigs.

They told Sky News: “We are shocked by the actions of those involved as their abhorrent behaviour does not represent our business. We are a family run farm where the care and welfare of our pigs is paramount.

“We have been able to identify the four individuals in the film and following an immediate investigation their employment has been terminated.”

Pigs are shown beaten and abused in undercover footage provided by Animal Equality. Photo: Animal Equality

Dr Toni Shephard, Animal Equality’s UK Director, said: “While intensive pig farms are inherently pitiless places, the brutality inflicted on these poor pigs is incomprehensible.

“The workers show complete contempt for the animals in their care and seem immune to their suffering, even when the pigs scream in pain. We demand that they be brought to justice”

The majority of British pigs are kept locked inside sheds and barns for their whole lives.

Supermarkets such as the Co-op are Waitrose have pledged to stop sourcing their meat from farms which aren’t free range in the coming years.

But Dr Shepard believes the best way to end cruelty to pigs is to cut out meat altogether.

She added: “Consumers can help end this cruelty by trying the increasing variety of plant-based foods available in shops and restaurants, which are often healthier than meat as well as cruelty-free.”