More than £250million was wiped off the value of Britain’s biggest pork producer yesterday after supermarkets suspended supplies following allegations of animal cruelty.
Shares in Cranswick fell as much as 9 per cent in early trading – reducing its market capitalisation by £263million to £2.6billion.
The slump came after secret recordings obtained by The Mail on Sunday allegedly showed ‘a horrific catalogue of animal abuse carried out by sadistic workers’ at its Northmoor Farm in Lincolnshire.
In what the newspaper described as ‘one sickening scene’, a farm worker grabs a squealing piglet by its hind legs, swings it above his head and smashes it down on the floor.
This banned method of killing is known as ‘piglet thumping’ and is a criminal offence.
The report also claimed piglets are killed if they are the runts of the litter and not growing fast enough to be profitable.
Other harrowing footage shows helpless sows being kicked and beaten with metal bars, as well as distressing botched killings which left animals writhing in agony.
Major supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda have suspended supplies from the Cranswick farm.
In once piece of footage, a farm worker grabs a squealing piglet by its hind legs, swings it above his head and smashes it down on the floor
The report also claimed piglets are killed if they are the runts of the litter and not growing fast enough to be profitable
Cranswick has ordered an investigation and suspended the farm staff.
A spokesman said: ‘The welfare of the animals we rear is of the utmost importance and we are extremely disappointed to see the unacceptable lapse of welfare standards captured at Northmoor Farm.
‘As soon as we saw the footage we suspended the team working at the farm and we are conducting an urgent and thorough investigation. We have also suspended the farm from supplying any pigs until the investigation is completed.’
Cranswick shares ended the day down 7 per cent.
Cranswick operates in all areas of pig production and supplies fresh pork, sausages and bacon, among other things, to supermarkets across Britain.
The company reported revenues of £2.6billion and profits of £176million last year and its chief executive, Adam Couch, was paid £3.3million.
The footage at farm, which houses 6,000 pigs, was filmed over several weeks last year by an undercover investigator for the animal rights organisation Animal Justice Project.
The group’s founder, Claire Palmer, said: ‘This marks the start of a national, sustained campaign to expose the violent realities of pig farming in Britain. We will not be pulling any punches.
‘We are demanding immediate enforcement of the ban on blunt force trauma and the prosecution of Cranswick. There must be an independent public inquiry into pig farming practices and regulatory failures.’
Supermarkets condemned the horrific scenes caught by the undercover investigator.
A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: ‘These allegations involve unacceptable treatment of animals, which has no place in our supply chain.’
A Tesco spokesman said: ‘We take all reports of poor animal welfare extremely seriously and expect our suppliers to adhere to our high welfare standards.’
A Morrisons spokesman said: ‘We care deeply about animal welfare and these are shocking and concerning allegations.’
And Asda said: ‘We have clear animal welfare policies that all our suppliers must uphold and we welcome the swift response and action taken by Cranswick at this farm.’
