Tesco, Asda, Aldi and M&S supplier’s pig hit in face before dying from CO2

Secret footage shows a worker hitting pigs in the face and back with a paddle as they were prepared to be put into the gas chambers to die.

The footage was filmed at an abattoir which supplies supermarkets including Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Aldi as well as Marks & Spencer, including pigs being treated with carbon dioxide ( Rare footage of CO2) suffocating for up to a minute.

Many pigs come from RSPCA Assured Scheme accredited farms, which means higher welfare and the pork packaging also carries the RSPCA Assured mark.

The clip was filmed at the Cranswick owned and operated abattoir in Warton, Norfolk, for a film called they promiseaims to highlight how most pigs in UK abattoirs are killed using gas, a practice that animal welfare campaigners say is extremely cruel.

Some pigs were still moving after being exposed to the gas for several minutes.

Cranswick did not respond to a request for comment, but it is understood most of the supermarkets involved contacted the company after seeing the footage.

Activist Joey Carbstrong, they promiseIt said hitting the pigs in the face breached the government’s animal welfare laws and the animals were visibly frightened and writhing in agony as they suffocated.

“Our latest investigation reveals the callous treatment of so-called ‘high welfare’ pigs destined for supermarkets,” he said.

“If facing the horrors of carbon dioxide gas chambers wasn’t bad enough, workers added insult to injury by beating pigs. Unfortunately, this is inevitable in a system where animals are treated as commodities.

“Carbon dioxide is never a humane way to stun and kill animals and causes severe pain and suffering.

“The public should know what lies behind high welfare labels. Pigs are sensitive, curious and emotional animals. They deserve our respect.”

As early as 2003, the government’s own welfare advisers recommended a ban on carbon dioxide killings, but the advice was never adopted.

The following year, the European Food Safety Authority also concluded that the practice was cruel and called for its phaseout. Since then, the RSPCA and World Farming Compassion have jointly called for alternatives.

Mr Cabstrom said the meat industry claimed to use CO2 for welfare reasons, but added he believed the reason was that it was more “cost-effective”. In other words, he claimed, slaughterhouses could kill more animals in less time than stunning could.

The British Meat Processors Association previously admitted independent Pigs are “disgusted” by high concentrations of carbon dioxide and said they “will try to avoid contact with these”, adding: “Where carbon dioxide gas is used to kill, pigs show a strong reaction for a long period of time .” 30 seconds. “

A 2021 government review concluded: “Slaughterhouses are reluctant to explore inert gas mixture stunning commercially due to extended residence times, thereby reducing throughput.”

Official data shows that about 88% of pigs in the UK are knocked unconscious by high concentrations of carbon dioxide, and most of the rest are electrocuted to death with pliers on their heads.

in January, independent It has been revealed how two workers were sacked after pigs were beaten to death at a nearby free-range farm that supplies Morrisons and Tesco. Cranswick took over the farm and the pigs there were sent to this slaughterhouse.

A spokesman for RSPCA Assured said beating any animal was completely unacceptable and after seeing the footage the organization immediately launched an investigation and sent out an assessor to ensure it didn’t happen again.

They said: “Our experts also conducted a detailed analysis of the footage to determine whether there had been a breach of RSPCA welfare standards.”

“As our investigation is ongoing, we are unable to make any further comment at this time.

“Regarding the concerns over the use of CO2 shown in the video, the RSPCA’s welfare standards have strict requirements which help reduce negative experiences for the animals involved.

“However, developing alternatives to CO2 is a priority and we urge the UK government to follow the EU’s lead and seek to phase out CO2 as a priority by investing in research to find more humane alternatives.

“This video highlights how difficult it is to consider killing animals bred for food, and how important it is that the process is as humane as possible.

“We are working hard to improve the lives of farm animals by working with the food and farming industry to adopt higher welfare farming practices.”

Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, which are customers of Cranswick but do not buy products from the abattoir, referred to the British Retail Consortium’s comments. Andrew Opie, the society’s director of food and sustainability, said: “Our members take responsibility for animals. We take welfare issues very seriously and are liaising with suppliers and the RSPCA to understand their concerns about Measures taken against these allegations.”

Asda and Aldi have also been contacted for comment.