Undercover investigation reveals disturbing and inhumane treatment of factory farm animals
December 7, 2012 - A groundbreaking Mercy For Animals Canada undercover investigation provides a shocking look into blatant animal abuse at one of the nation's largest pork producers - Puratone - in Arborg, Manitoba.
Just off a country road north of Winnipeg, in the nearly featureless winter landscape of rural Manitoba, there is a series of nondescript barn buildings. The only hint of what goes on inside is a sign posted in the driveway that reads “Highest Productivity Sow Farm.” It is unlikely anyone passing by would give the place, or any other like it anywhere in Canada, a second thought. That may be about to change.
CTV’s W5 program broadcast secretly recorded video of how the pork available in major supermarkets everywhere begins its life. It is not easy viewing. After screening it, the CEO of Canada’s Federation of Humane Societies, Barbara Cartwright, predicted Canadians are in for a shock. “They are not used to seeing this,” she said. “They still believe animals are being raised in the old farm style.”
The reality could hardly be more different. The video shows what amounts to a living production line with thousands of pregnant sows, each held in a tiny metal stall where they will spend the nearly four months of their gestation. When they are ready, they are transferred to a slightly larger stall called a farrowing crate where they will give birth. After three weeks, the piglets are then sent away for fattening and eventual slaughter while the sows are returned to the gestation crates, re-impregnated to start the cycle again.
The man who secretly videotaped the operation worked at the barn for nearly three months last summer and early fall. He continues to work on other animal welfare investigations. He agreed to speak about his experiences on the condition his identity is not disclosed.
“The conditions are horrible,” he told W5 in an interview. “Nothing could prepare me for what I saw. There are thousands of pregnant pigs in these crates nearly their entire lives.”
The video also shows piglets having their tails cut, the males among them being castrated, all without anesthetic. Sub-standard piglets are killed using a method called thumping. It consists of an employee swinging the animal by its hind legs, striking its head against any nearby hard object, the remains thrown into a pile, some piglets appearing to be still alive. Sows that are no longer productive are dispatched using a device that fires a bolt into the brain. But it does not always appear to work effectively.
Dr. Mary Richardson, who chaired the Animal Welfare Committee for the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, viewed the video and wrote, “It clearly shows evidence of abuse and neglect leading to tremendous unnecessary suffering.” An Alberta based veterinarian, Dr. Debi Zimmerman wrote bluntly, “These animals endure a life filled with privations, unrelenting physical, mental pain and emotional distress.” And after watching images of one employee appearing to botch the task of euthanizing a fully grown pig, Dr. Ian Duncan of the University of Guelph, called it, “…the worst cruelty inflicted on an animal that I have witnessed in many years.”
While the images may be disturbing, experts interviewed by W5 concluded that the actions of the farm staff are within accepted industry standards and likely did not break any laws.
The sow farm is owned by a major Manitoba pork producer, Puratone, that is based in Niverville, a town just south of Winnipeg. It turned down repeated requests to be interviewed, but after two weeks of back-and-forth communication with W5 was provided an opportunity to screen the video at its headquarters.
President and Chief Executive Officer Ray Hildebrand provided the following statement: “We are disturbed by some of the images shown in this video, which do not reflect our principles or our animal welfare policy and operating procedures. We have launched an immediate investigation and corrective actions are underway.
“Over our 25 years of farming operations we have strictly followed the provincial regulations regarding animal welfare … and we have two veterinarians on staff to support this mandate.”
The letter implies that the video is highlighting the actions of a few who are the exception in an industry that otherwise, takes animal welfare seriously.
Those responsible for the undercover video disagree. They are part of a group called Mercy for Animals. It is American-based but is expanding north with a new chapter called Mercy for Animals Canada. It says its Manitoba investigation is the first of its kind done in Canada, the world's second largest pork exporter.
The group points out that castration and tail docking without anesthetic, the use of thumping and bolt guns to euthanize, and confinement of animals in tiny stalls are all standard across Canada. But not elsewhere.
Kate Parkes, who is the Senior Scientific Officer for the United Kingdom’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals concluded, “Some of what is seen in the video is poor practice and some of it would be illegal over here (in the U.K.).”
Critics of Canada’s standards often cite the methods of confining pigs as an example of how the country is lagging behind others, particularly in Europe. Dr. Parkes said, “Gestation crates are illegal in the U.K. They were banned in 1999 on welfare grounds.” The rest of Europe will follow suit in the new year.
Canada’s pork producers do follow a set of rules, appropriately called the Pig Code of Practice, that hasn’t changed in 20 years. Animal welfare activists say the code was outdated even before it was written.
One of the activists who helped plan the hidden camera operation is Twyla Francois, the Head of Investigations at Mercy for Animals Canada, and well-known to the industry. She argues that pork producers are not intentionally cruel, but are working “…with a set of standards and a system of rearing animals that’s inappropriate and this is the result, unbelievable suffering.”
Canada’s producers agree that the standards are in need of change, but there is reluctance to move quickly. Andrew Dickson, with the Manitoba Pork Council told W5 that the practice of crating pigs was created to protect them from hurting and competing with one another. “We’re being careful with change,” he said, “because with a new system there’s no guarantee that these animals will have the same level of care that we might have had with the previous system.”
And in fact, the whole process of change appears to have stalled. On November 20, the National Farm Animal Care Council that will set the new farm standards wrote, “We know our industry is going through a very bad time financially. At the end of the day, if the producers can not incorporate changes that we’re proposing, their option is either to go out of business or perhaps put themselves in a very negative financial position.”
The industry in other words is arguing that for now, change is a luxury it cannot afford. Animal welfare groups will argue, it is the status quo that the country cannot afford. But the undercover video will give animal activists a powerful boost for their argument.
The image of production lines of animals being bred, raised and killed to provide low-cost meat, cannot be made pretty. It’s why the doors of the Canada’s pig farms have been kept firmly closed. Until now.
Source: W5
Piglets are shipped off for 'fattening,' and often have their tails and testicles cut off without anesthesia.
At a Manitoba pig farm, impregnated sows are kept in small metal crates, side by side, until they are ready to give birth.
The petition
Tell Canada's top grocery chains to stop torturing pigs
Petition started by: Mercy for Animals
46257. That was the number assigned to a pig at a factory farm I worked at in Manitoba.
Like millions of pigs who are raised and killed for pork in Canada, 46257 spent most of her life confined to a filthy, metal gestation crate barely larger than her own body. In such a small cage, she was unable to walk, run, play, root in the soil, see the sun, breathe fresh air, or do nearly anything that would make her life even remotely worth living.
After meeting 46257 and seeing her vibrant personality shining through, despite the years of torment she endured locked in a tiny cage, I am compelled to tell her story.
I am an investigator with Mercy For Animals Canada, and for nearly 10 weeks I worked undercover at Puratone, a factory farm that supplies pork to Sobeys, Superstore/Loblaws, Metro, and Walmart Canada. The misery and abuse that I witnessed at this factory farm will haunt me for the rest of my life.
After years locked in a tiny torture chamber, 46257 became so sick and weak that she could no longer stand. She developed heavy bruising and sores on her face from being forced to lie pressed against the bars of her cage.
I brought her deteriorating condition to my supervisor's attention repeatedly - only on the fifth day did he finally act. He cursed at her, kicked her and lifted her by her tail stump to make her climb a steep ramp. There, he forced 46257 to step over another sow he'd just killed and fired a metal rod into her skull. I could only watch as she lay kicking and blinking, conscious and suffering, for minutes before she finally died. Her death, like her life, was neither swift nor painless.
While all of the abuses I witnessed at this pig factory farm were incredibly cruel, confining pregnant pigs for life in cages so small they can barely move is probably the worst. In fact, animal welfare experts and veterinarians around the world consider gestation crates to be so cruel that they have been banned in the entire European Union, Australia, New Zealand and in nine U.S. states.
Even major retailers like Costco, Safeway, McDonald’s, Tim Hortons, and over 40 others in Canada and the United States have taken a stand against gestation crates and are demanding pork suppliers do away with them. But other grocery chains, including Sobeys, Superstore/Loblaws, Metro and Walmart Canada, continue to support this blatant cruelty to animals by purchasing pork from factory farms that cram pregnant pigs in these cruel cages.
These companies have the power and ethical responsibility to reject this abusive factory farming practice by immediately adopting policies that require suppliers to phase out their use of gestation crates.
Please sign my petition to ask Sobeys, Superstore/Loblaws, Metro and Walmart Canada to do the right thing by 46257 and prohibit gestation crates in their pork supply chains.
Thank you,
"Darrel"
MFA Canada Undercover Investigator
The petition-letter
To:
Marc Poulin, President & CEO, Sobeys
François Vimard, Executive Vice-President, Sobeys
David Smith, Vice-President of Sustainability, Sobeys
Galen G. Weston, Executive Chairman, Loblaws
Vicente Trius, President, Loblaws
Robert Chant, Senior Vice-President, Corporate Affairs & Communication, Loblaws
Eric R. La Flèche, President & Chief Executive Officer, Metro
Robert Sawyer, Executive VP & Chief Operating Officer, Metro
Shelley Broader, Chief Executive Officer, Walmart Canada
Bob Hakeem, Senior Vice-President, People, Walmart Canada
Andrew Pelletier, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability, Walmart Canada
Lee Tappenden, Chief Merchandizing Officer, Walmart Canada
Dear Decision-Makers,
I was shocked and horrified by the animal abuse recently documented on hidden camera by Mercy For Animals Canada at one of your pork suppliers – Puratone. Meat from these abused animals is currently being sold in your stores under the Maple Leaf Foods and Freybe brands of pork.
I am disgusted to see how pregnant pigs are kept locked in narrow, metal gestation crates barely larger than their own bodies. In such intensive and unrelenting confinement, these intelligent and social animals are unable to even turn around, lie down comfortably, walk, or engage in other basic behaviours.
Recognizing their inherent cruelty, many of your major competitors have started demanding that their pork suppliers do away with gestation crates – including Safeway, McDonalds, Tim Hortons and over 30 other major retailers in Canada and the United States
It's time for your company to take a stand against egregious animal abuse by requiring all of your pork suppliers to phase out gestation crates.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Marc Poulin, President & CEO, Sobeys
François Vimard, Executive Vice-President, Sobeys
David Smith, Vice-President of Sustainability, Sobeys
Galen G. Weston, Executive Chairman, Loblaws
Vicente Trius, President, Loblaws
Robert Chant, Senior Vice-President, Corporate Affairs & Communication, Loblaws
Eric R. La Flèche, President & Chief Executive Officer, Metro
Robert Sawyer, Executive VP & Chief Operating Officer, Metro
Shelley Broader, Chief Executive Officer, Walmart Canada
Bob Hakeem, Senior Vice-President, People, Walmart Canada
Andrew Pelletier, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability, Walmart Canada
Lee Tappenden, Chief Merchandizing Officer, Walmart Canada
Dear Decision-Makers,
I was shocked and horrified by the animal abuse recently documented on hidden camera by Mercy For Animals Canada at one of your pork suppliers – Puratone. Meat from these abused animals is currently being sold in your stores under the Maple Leaf Foods and Freybe brands of pork.
I am disgusted to see how pregnant pigs are kept locked in narrow, metal gestation crates barely larger than their own bodies. In such intensive and unrelenting confinement, these intelligent and social animals are unable to even turn around, lie down comfortably, walk, or engage in other basic behaviours.
Recognizing their inherent cruelty, many of your major competitors have started demanding that their pork suppliers do away with gestation crates – including Safeway, McDonalds, Tim Hortons and over 30 other major retailers in Canada and the United States
It's time for your company to take a stand against egregious animal abuse by requiring all of your pork suppliers to phase out gestation crates.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
|
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Thank you!
W5 report sparks
investigations into Manitoba pig farm
Disturbing footage captured at a Manitoba pork farm has prompted the launch of several investigations looking into the treatment of animals at the facility, including an internal investigation by the company at the centre of the abuse allegations.
Following a CTV W5 report that aired undercover footage from inside the Puratone Corp. farm in Arborg, Man., the company said it was "disturbed" by the images, which shows pigs with open sores in tiny cages and piglets being euthanized by slamming them against concrete walls and floors.
A statement posted on the company's website said an investigation had been launched and corrective actions will be taken.
Footage recorded by an undercover employee appears to show thousands of pregnant sows, some so large they are unable to walk, crammed into small metal gestation cages with no room to turn around.
The sows spend nearly four months in the cages. When they are ready, they are transferred to a slightly larger stall called a farrowing crate where they give birth. After three weeks, the piglets are then sent away for fattening and eventual slaughter while the sows are returned to the gestation crates and re-impregnated to start the cycle again.
Footage from farm has been sent to the province's chief veterinarian, whose office said it will be reviewing the video.
However, Manitoba's Pork Council told CTV News on Monday that while there were issues with some of the footage, much of what was captured by the animal welfare group was standard practice -- including the "thumping" of piglets.
The group behind the footage, Mercy for Animals Canada, held news conferences in Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal on Monday where they called on major grocery chains to stop carrying meat from producers who use gestation cages.
"The extreme cruelty documented at this factory farm would horrify most Canadians, but it is actually considered standard industry practice," said Kimberly Carroll, a spokesperson for Mercy for Animals Canada.
"Pigs are every bit as capable of experiencing pain and suffering as our beloved cats and dogs at home, and they deserve the same protection from abuse."
The man who secretly videotaped the operation worked at the barn as an animal care technician for nearly three months last summer and early fall. He continues to work on other animal welfare investigations. He agreed to speak about his experiences on the condition his identity is not disclosed.
"The conditions are horrible," he told W5 in an interview. "Nothing could prepare me for what I saw. There are thousands of pregnant pigs in these crates nearly their entire lives."
Maple Leaf Foods, one of Canada's largest hog processors, entered into an agreement last month to acquire Puratone.
Following the W5 segment, Maple Leaf said in a statement that the treatment in the video is "disturbing" and not accepted industry practices.
The company said it plans to conduct an audit of Puratone's animal welfare practices.
"We have a zero tolerance policy for animal abuse of any kind."
Following a CTV W5 report that aired undercover footage from inside the Puratone Corp. farm in Arborg, Man., the company said it was "disturbed" by the images, which shows pigs with open sores in tiny cages and piglets being euthanized by slamming them against concrete walls and floors.
A statement posted on the company's website said an investigation had been launched and corrective actions will be taken.
Footage recorded by an undercover employee appears to show thousands of pregnant sows, some so large they are unable to walk, crammed into small metal gestation cages with no room to turn around.
The sows spend nearly four months in the cages. When they are ready, they are transferred to a slightly larger stall called a farrowing crate where they give birth. After three weeks, the piglets are then sent away for fattening and eventual slaughter while the sows are returned to the gestation crates and re-impregnated to start the cycle again.
Footage from farm has been sent to the province's chief veterinarian, whose office said it will be reviewing the video.
However, Manitoba's Pork Council told CTV News on Monday that while there were issues with some of the footage, much of what was captured by the animal welfare group was standard practice -- including the "thumping" of piglets.
The group behind the footage, Mercy for Animals Canada, held news conferences in Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal on Monday where they called on major grocery chains to stop carrying meat from producers who use gestation cages.
"The extreme cruelty documented at this factory farm would horrify most Canadians, but it is actually considered standard industry practice," said Kimberly Carroll, a spokesperson for Mercy for Animals Canada.
"Pigs are every bit as capable of experiencing pain and suffering as our beloved cats and dogs at home, and they deserve the same protection from abuse."
The man who secretly videotaped the operation worked at the barn as an animal care technician for nearly three months last summer and early fall. He continues to work on other animal welfare investigations. He agreed to speak about his experiences on the condition his identity is not disclosed.
"The conditions are horrible," he told W5 in an interview. "Nothing could prepare me for what I saw. There are thousands of pregnant pigs in these crates nearly their entire lives."
Maple Leaf Foods, one of Canada's largest hog processors, entered into an agreement last month to acquire Puratone.
Following the W5 segment, Maple Leaf said in a statement that the treatment in the video is "disturbing" and not accepted industry practices.
The company said it plans to conduct an audit of Puratone's animal welfare practices.
"We have a zero tolerance policy for animal abuse of any kind."
Manitoba's top vet investigating
alleged pig farm abuse
December 9, 2012 - TORONTO -- The office of Manitoba's chief veterinarian said Sunday it has received and will review footage of the treatment of pigs at a hog farm that has sparked accusations of animal abuse.
Animal Health and Welfare Manager Terry Whiting said video footage taken at a Puratone Corp. farm in Arborg, Man., by animal rights group Mercy For Animals Canada was received Friday, but couldn't comment on whether an investigation has been launched.
The footage, released online and to CTV's "W5," shows pigs bleeding from open wounds in tight metal cages, pregnant pigs with distended, inflamed bellies and piglets being slammed down on the floor by staff.
Mercy For Animals Canada says it was shot between August and September by an undercover investigator at the Puratone facility.
Investigations director Twyla Francois said the footage was recorded with a pinhole camera worn by an activist who was hired as an animal care technician by Puratone after applying to several Manitoba pig farms selected at random.
"Our investigator purely went in as the eyes and ears. He just recorded what he saw each day, and footage doesn't lie," she said.
Puratone CEO Ray Hildebrand said in a statement that the company is "disturbed" by the images which he said do not reflect its animal care rules.
He said an investigation is underway and that there will be "corrective actions" taken as a result of the video.
"The vast majority of our people respect the animals under their care and follow good stewardship practices. We require all staff to adhere to animal welfare policies and nothing else will be tolerated," he said.
The advocacy group said meat from the plant is purchased by major grocery chains Sobeys, Loblaws, Metro, and Walmart Canada. It's calling for the stores to ban the purchase of meat from farms that use the metal "gestation" crates.
Twyla said the group has sent a legal petition to Manitoba's top veterinarian alleging the footage shows the farm violates the province's animal welfare law.
"Although these are standard practices (in the industry), they do cause unnecessary suffering... We believe that we have grounds for the Office of the Chief Veterinarian to act," she said.
"I think we're at an interesting turning point where the public is now seeing into the hidden world of factory farming and the public is outraged, and rightly so."
Francois said the group's investigator recorded auditors from Maple Leaf Foods Inc. -- which is in the process of buying Puratone -- touring the facility as the alleged mistreatment was occurring.
"They saw all this so they clearly did tolerate it and they were aware of it," she alleged.
Maple Leaf was not immediately available for comment Sunday but said in a statement on its website that it will conduct a "thorough audit" of Puratone's animal care policies after the purchase is finalized.
The company said the treatment shown in the video does not reflect industry practices and is "not tolerated at Maple Leaf."
Industry group the Canadian Pork Council said in a release Saturday that it has asked an independent panel of animal welfare experts to review the footage.
"As soon as we have their input, we will determine what steps are necessary to ensure humane treatment of animals on Canadian hog farms remains the norm," it stated.
Mercy For Animals Canada has scheduled news conferences Monday in Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal to release more details on the videos and call for grocery store chains to be more stringent about how they source their meat products.
The group was formed earlier this year as a sister organization to the U.S.-based Mercy For Animals, which aims to prevent cruelty to farm animals.
Source: CTV News
The footage, released online and to CTV's "W5," shows pigs bleeding from open wounds in tight metal cages, pregnant pigs with distended, inflamed bellies and piglets being slammed down on the floor by staff.
Mercy For Animals Canada says it was shot between August and September by an undercover investigator at the Puratone facility.
Investigations director Twyla Francois said the footage was recorded with a pinhole camera worn by an activist who was hired as an animal care technician by Puratone after applying to several Manitoba pig farms selected at random.
"Our investigator purely went in as the eyes and ears. He just recorded what he saw each day, and footage doesn't lie," she said.
Puratone CEO Ray Hildebrand said in a statement that the company is "disturbed" by the images which he said do not reflect its animal care rules.
He said an investigation is underway and that there will be "corrective actions" taken as a result of the video.
"The vast majority of our people respect the animals under their care and follow good stewardship practices. We require all staff to adhere to animal welfare policies and nothing else will be tolerated," he said.
The advocacy group said meat from the plant is purchased by major grocery chains Sobeys, Loblaws, Metro, and Walmart Canada. It's calling for the stores to ban the purchase of meat from farms that use the metal "gestation" crates.
Twyla said the group has sent a legal petition to Manitoba's top veterinarian alleging the footage shows the farm violates the province's animal welfare law.
"Although these are standard practices (in the industry), they do cause unnecessary suffering... We believe that we have grounds for the Office of the Chief Veterinarian to act," she said.
"I think we're at an interesting turning point where the public is now seeing into the hidden world of factory farming and the public is outraged, and rightly so."
Francois said the group's investigator recorded auditors from Maple Leaf Foods Inc. -- which is in the process of buying Puratone -- touring the facility as the alleged mistreatment was occurring.
"They saw all this so they clearly did tolerate it and they were aware of it," she alleged.
Maple Leaf was not immediately available for comment Sunday but said in a statement on its website that it will conduct a "thorough audit" of Puratone's animal care policies after the purchase is finalized.
The company said the treatment shown in the video does not reflect industry practices and is "not tolerated at Maple Leaf."
Industry group the Canadian Pork Council said in a release Saturday that it has asked an independent panel of animal welfare experts to review the footage.
"As soon as we have their input, we will determine what steps are necessary to ensure humane treatment of animals on Canadian hog farms remains the norm," it stated.
Mercy For Animals Canada has scheduled news conferences Monday in Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal to release more details on the videos and call for grocery store chains to be more stringent about how they source their meat products.
The group was formed earlier this year as a sister organization to the U.S.-based Mercy For Animals, which aims to prevent cruelty to farm animals.
Source: CTV News
