
Morrisons have been exposed in our latest undercover investigation into British pig farming. Take action now.
Rotting corpses and animal abuse:
Red Tractor Suspends Farms supplying Pig Meat to Morrisons
Disturbing footage from our latest undercover investigation into two British pig farms exposes shocking conditions at farms supplying Morrisons. Workers were filmed brutally killing young pigs, mutilating others and leaving dead animals out in the open. The investigations took place over the course of three weeks, using hidden cameras to reveal atrocities both inside and outside the farms’ sheds.
Harrowing Pig Cruelty
Calvesley Farm is a pig breeding facility operated by Winterbrook Farm Partners. Up to 400 poor piglets are born in this hellhole each week.
Whiteshoot Farm is a rearing and fattening facility also operated by Winterbrook Farm Partners, housing more than 8,000 pigs.
Suffering on British Pig Farms
In a dilapidated farrowing house at Calvesley Farm, an expectant sow was four days overdue. She was restless, confined to a crate that allowed her almost no room to stand, let alone turn around. She lapsed into stereotyped behaviour, gnawing at the metal bars trying to escape her terrible confinement and her agonising sadness was heartbreaking. This mother had to give birth onto an unforgiving hard floor with not a shred of bedding.
Due to selective breeding, pigs now give birth on average to an astonishing 13 to 14 piglets but for this sow there were just four. It's likely that such a small litter would be her last. As soon as a sow is deemed unprofitable here, she's marked with a green cross and moved to the cull pen.
Brutal Mutilations and Ruthless killing
Each newborn piglet is pulled from the farrowing crate and ruthlessly thrown into a metal trough. Investigators captured workers using a barbaric hot knife to slice the piglets’ tails back to a bleeding stump and a pair of pliers to clip away their teeth – all without pain relief. These cruel acts are supposed to prevent tail biting, a behaviour that manifests from distress and lack of stimulation.
One of the most distressing scenes captured by Viva! Campaigns shows a farm worker ‘knocking’ young piglets – killing them by slamming their tiny heads onto the concrete floor. It's a brutally cruel act, which is followed by the worker dumping the bodies aside – presumably because these animals were considered too small to be profitable.
Incinerating Public Health
As if all this wasn’t bad enough, our team also stumbled upon the farm's incinerator in an open-ended shed. Most days there were piles of dead piglets – some in empty feed sacks, others dumped on the ashes from previous burns – discarded like rubbish. The door had been left wide open. Next to the shed there were more dead piglets awaiting their turn to burn, writhing in maggots.
These practices are in complete violation of the government’s guidance on how to handle ‘fallen stock’, which states: ‘While waiting for your fallen stock to be collected, you must ensure that animals and birds cannot access the carcase.’
Take Action Now
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Viva! exposes shocking conditions at farms supplying @Morrisons! Do not #TrustTheTractor, end factory farming and choose vegan.
? viva.org.uk/morrisons-pigs
#MorrisonsPigs #RedTractor #EndFactoryFarming
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Morrisons Exposed – Calvesley Farm: https://youtu.be/YhL8dB7sgNY
Morrisons Exposed – Whiteshoot Farm: https://youtu.be/x7xH9q9RM2M
Your voice counts!
Contact Morrisons NOW and join us in calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to End Factory Farming, Before It Ends Us.
Media
- Daily Mail [Exclusive]: Horrifying undercover footage shows pig farm worker slamming piglets into concrete floor while others are thrown into metal troughs as food regulators launch investigation
- The London Economic: Rotting corpses & animal abuse at farms supplying pig meat
- Plant Based News: Major Exposé Reveals 'Barbaric' Treatment Of Pigs On 'Red Tractor' Farm
- Newbury Today: Shocking footage of piglets being slammed head first on to concrete at West Berkshire farm
- Basingstoke Gazette: Disturbing footage shows piglets thrown into metal troughs and "mercilessly mutilated"
- Oxford Mail: Blewbury based pig farm company accused of slamming piglets to death
- Totally Vegan Buzz: Undercover investigation reveals ‘horrific abuse’ at pig farm supplying Morrisons
- Vegan Food and Living: Undercover investigation reveals ‘barbaric’ treatment of pigs at farm supplying Morrisons
- Reading Chronicle: West Berkshire: Calvesley Farm investigated over 'shocking treatment of pigs'
- The Ecologist: Viva! exposes the farms supplying pig meat to Morrisons