Inhumane, disgusting, sleezy, sick, and sad are just a few of the words that came to our mind when we read this story.
The Humane Society of the United States released a disturbing report after a month-long investigation in which an undercover worker saw pigs being crammed into tiny gestation crates at one of the largest producers of pork’s factory farms!
Seven states have already banned the use of gestation crates, but they are still legal in Virginia where the investigation took place.
The factory farm in Waverly, Virginia is owned by Murphy-Brown, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods Inc., and is the worlds largest producer of pigs for slaughter.
Photos and video from the investigation showed about 1,000 large female pigs crammed into metal crates that severely limited their ability to move.
The pigs are moved to larger crates once they give birth, but then are artificially inseminated, then sent back to the small crates.
Those poor animals!
Paul Shapiro, a spokesman for the Humane Society said in a statement:
“These animals are intelligent, curious and they don’t deserve this type of abuse.”
Right on! No animal does!
Smithfield insists it is still working to have its farms use group housing arrangements rather than gestation stalls, but have yet to say when the transition will be finished.
Other alleged abuses against pigs at the factory include jabbing them with rods, recklessly using stun guns on the defenseless animals, and THROWING piglets into carts.
This news is absolutely APPALLING and we hope the company makes an effort to change their practices immediately!
Either way, we won’t be buying any Smithfield products this holiday season.
[Image via AP Images.]