Smacking the squealing piglet in the face with a heavy board, the farm worker delivers his blows as the terrified animal writhes and recoils.
The astonishing cruelty – exposed in new undercover footage obtained by this newspaper – is just one of a litany of harrowing scenes captured at a factory farm supplying Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.
From injured piglets violently kicked across the floor by workers to others left contorted in pain during slow and agonising deaths, this is the daily reality for pigs farmed by Britain’s largest pork supplier, which insists animal welfare is ‘close to its heart’.
The bombshell findings come just months after The Mail on Sunday revealed that piglets were being beaten to death at a different farm run by the same company, Cranswick.
The story sparked national outrage, wiped £250 million off the company’s value and forced supermarkets to cut ties with the farm.
But while Cranswick at the time called the behaviour a ‘lapse’ in welfare standards and suspended a handful of farm staff, today’s revelations suggest that cruelty is endemic within the multi-billion-pound operation.
Shockingly, some of the most severe abuse was inflicted just two weeks after the farm was audited by Red Tractor, a quality mark meant to ensure standards of animal welfare.
Critics say this raises questions about the scheme’s credibility and are calling for a public inquiry into the industry.
The astonishing cruelty – exposed in new undercover footage obtained by this newspaper – is just one of a litany of harrowing scenes captured at a factory farm that supplied pork to the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons
From injured piglets violently kicked across the floor by workers to others left contorted in pain during slow and agonising deaths, this is the daily reality for pigs farmed by Britain’s largest pork supplier, which insists animal welfare is ‘close to its heart’
The bombshell findings come just months after The Mail on Sunday revealed that piglets were being beaten to death at a different farm run by the same company, Cranswick
Cameras hidden by investigators across the site at Somerby Top Farm in Lincolnshire over a ten-month period show:
- Workers routinely hitting pigs with boards, paddles and their fists, deliberately targeting areas such as their snout and eyes.
- One piglet left dying for 33 hours as other piglets cannibalised an open wound.
- Legally required welfare checks often ignoring visible injuries and suffering, with one inspection of 1,000 pigs lasting just 90 seconds.
- Multiple botched killings of lame piglets, which left them screaming and thrashing for over 30 seconds after being shot.
- A manager saying: ‘I’m the boss. I’ve been here three or four years and it’s f***ing s***, this place.’
Last night UK supermarkets said they had cut ties with the farm, while politicians condemned the findings as ‘horrifying’ and called for a police investigation.
Somerby Top Farm houses around 4,000 pigs, crammed into barren sheds with up to 27 pigs per pen. It is a fattening farm, where the animals are raised to reach the right weight for slaughter.
Shockingly, some of the most severe abuse was inflicted just two weeks after the farm was audited by Red Tractor, a quality mark meant to ensure standards of animal welfare. Critics say this raises questions about the scheme’s credibility and are calling for a public inquiry
Somerby Top Farm (pictured) houses around 4,000 pigs, crammed into barren sheds with up to 27 pigs per pen. It is a fattening farm, where the animals are raised to reach the right weight for slaughter
Piglets arrive at the farm (pictured) having been reared 13 miles away at Cranswick’s Northmoor Farm, where an investigator secretly recorded a catalogue of abuse, as exposed by the MoS in May
Piglets arrive at the farm having been reared 13 miles away at Cranswick’s Northmoor Farm, where an investigator secretly recorded a catalogue of abuse, as exposed by the MoS in May.
The footage revealed farm workers swinging piglets by their hind legs and smashing them onto the hard floor, a banned method of killing called ‘piglet thumping’.
Today’s revelations about Somerby Top come after a probe carried out by rights group Animal Justice Project, which saw investigators bravely going into the farm at night to hide cameras and document widespread suffering.
The farm’s parent company, Cranswick, generated £146 million revenue from fresh pork last year and currently sends more than 35,000 pigs to slaughter each week, but is investing £35million to expand capacity to 50,000.
Despite it marketing its meat as ‘high welfare’ and using the phrase ‘farming with conscience’ on its website, alongside photos of pigs happily enjoying idyllic green fields – video evidence shows this is far from the reality.
Dr Alice Brough, a pig veterinarian who reviewed the footage, said: ‘The extreme violence shown by workers is deeply concerning.
‘Cranswick’s welfare claims are hollow – extreme suffering is endemic on Britain’s pig farms. We urgently need a public inquiry into the pig farming industry.’
The investigation found multiple potential breaches of the Animal Welfare Act, including the need for protection from pain, injury, suffering, and disease.
Today’s revelations about Somerby Top come after a probe carried out by rights group Animal Justice Project, which saw investigators bravely going into the farm at night to hide cameras and document widespread suffering
Despite it marketing its meat as ‘high welfare’ and using the phrase ‘farming with conscience’ on its website, alongside photos of pigs happily enjoying idyllic green fields – video evidence shows this is far from the reality
Workers were recorded frequently swearing and shouting at the pigs while the animals were kept under constant artificial lighting for up to 50 hours at a time, in violation of rules requiring periods of darkness for animal welfare.
Some of the most gruesome abuses documented were pigs being subjected to cannibalism, including being eaten alive due to ruptured hernias, stress and boredom.
On top of posing urgent questions for the already under-fire Cranswick, the findings also throw into doubt Red Tractor’s claims that it is the ‘most trusted food assurance scheme’, given that Somerby Top was certified just two weeks before some of the most severe cruelty was recorded.
As many as 95 per cent of pigs in the UK come from farms certified by Red Tractor.
Labour MP David Taylor said the ‘sickening abuse needs to be thoroughly investigated by police’.
Sir Roger Gale, patron of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, described the footage as ‘horrific’, adding: ‘If practices like this can occur under the Red Tractor banner, what is the need for such labels?’
Lib Dem MP Danny Chambers said: ‘The abuse uncovered in this investigation is sickening and it makes me very angry. There is no excuse for this cruel behaviour.’
Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: ‘This is the second Cranswick farm to be exposed for horrific cruelty. We need a national inquiry into how such systemic abuse is allowed to continue in supposedly ‘assured’ supply chains, and we need it now.’
The investigation found multiple potential breaches of the Animal Welfare Act, including the need for protection from pain, injury, suffering, and disease. Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay (pictured) said: ‘We need a national inquiry into how such systemic abuse is allowed to continue’
Labour MP Terry Jermy (pictured), who opposed Cranswick’s plans for a mega-farm in Norfolk, said: ‘This latest footage is horrifying. ‘I am concerned that this is another incident involving Cranswick’
After seeing the footage, Tesco (pictured, file image), Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons all condemned the abuse and said they had suspended supplies from Somerby Top Farm
And Labour MP Terry Jermy, who opposed Cranswick’s plans for a mega-farm in Norfolk, said: ‘This latest footage is horrifying.
‘I am concerned that this is another incident involving Cranswick, given their role influencing public policy as a member of the Government’s food strategy board.’
Claire Palmer, director of Animal Justice Project, said: ‘Cranswick has created these conditions, not the pigs. The public should be appalled. It’s time to end factory farming.’
The group is calling for a public inquiry into pig farming and a criminal investigation.
After seeing the footage, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons all condemned the abuse and said they had suspended supplies from Somerby Top Farm.
A Cranswick spokesman said: ‘The health and welfare of our pigs is our highest priority. The content was recorded several months ago but has only recently been shared with us.
‘We find the treatment of the pigs in the footage distressing to watch and we apologise unreservedly for this lapse in our standards. It does not in any way reflect operating practices at our farms today.’
They added that, since being alerted to the abuses at Northmoor Farm, the company has changed management teams at the farms, recruited five full-time welfare officers and is installing AI-enabled CCTV at all indoor farms to monitor staff behaviour and animals in real time.
A Red Tractor spokesman said the farm’s certification had been suspended and a full investigation was under way.
They added: ‘The disregard of animal welfare standards in the footage does a disservice to an industry which works hard to uphold welfare requirements.’
