AP Exclusive: Video shows workers abusing pigs

[Guest guest]

See the article, below. The video is at:

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/iowa_pigfarm_abuse

 

Here are some excerpts from the below article:

 

" An undercover video shot at an Iowa pig farm shows workers hitting sows

with metal rods, slamming piglets on a concrete floor and bragging about

jamming rods up into sows' hindquarters. "

 

" On the video, obtained by The Associated Press, a supervisor tells an

undercover investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

that when he gets angry or a sow won't move, 'I grab one of these rods

and jam it in her (anus).' "

 

" At one point in the video, workers are shown slamming piglets on the

ground, a practice designed to instantly kill those baby pigs that

aren't healthy enough. But on the video, the piglets are not killed

instantly, and in a bloodied pile, some piglets can be seen wiggling

vainly. The video also shows piglets being castrated, and having their

tails cut off, without anesthesia. "

 

And here are some other abuses that were documented in this undercover

investigation (listed in

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/iowa_pigfarm_abuse):

 

* A supervisor shoved a cane into a sow's vagina, struck her on the back

about 17 times, and then struck another sow.

 

* Multiple pigs were beaten with metal gate rods, and lacerations were

found on more than 30 sows - which is probably evidence of more abuse.

 

* A worker hit a young pig in the face four times with the edge of a

herding board, and investigators witnessed dozens of similar incidents

involving this worker and 11 other workers.

 

* Two men - including a supervisor - were witnessed jabbing clothespins

into pigs' eyes and faces. A supervisor also poked two animals in the

eyes with his fingers.

 

* A supervisor kicked a young pig in the face, abdomen, and genitals to

make her move and told PETA's investigator, " You gotta beat on the

bitch. Make her cry. "

 

* A worker who weighed an estimated 315 lbs. punched a sow on the back

three times and said that he sat on a sow's head.

 

* An employee sprayed blue paint into the nostrils and face of a sow for

over 30 seconds.

 

-- Mike

 

===================

 

[http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10480059]

 

AP Exclusive: Video shows workers abusing pigs

By FREDERIC J. FROMMER, Associated Press Writer

Article Launched: 09/16/2008 03:50:23 PM PDT

 

 

WASHINGTON -- An undercover video shot at an Iowa pig farm shows workers

hitting sows with metal rods, slamming piglets on a concrete floor and

bragging about jamming rods up into sows' hindquarters.

 

On the video, obtained by The Associated Press, a supervisor tells an

undercover investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

that when he gets angry or a sow won't move, " I grab one of these rods

and jam it in her (anus). "

 

The farm, located outside of Bayard, Iowa, about 60 miles west of Des

Moines, is a supplier to Hormel Foods of Austin, Minn. PETA wants to use

the results of the investigation to pressure Hormel, the maker of Spam

and other food products, to demand that its suppliers ensure humane

treatment of pigs.

 

Hormel spokeswoman Julie Henderson Craven on Tuesday called the abuses

" completely unacceptable. "

 

The animal rights group also planned to send the video to the sheriff in

Greene County, Iowa, seeking prosecution of 18 people on animal cruelty

violations. According to PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich, the video

shows eight people directly abusing animals.

 

" Abuse on factory farms is the absolute norm, not the exception, and

anyone eating factory-farmed meat is paying to support it, " Friedrich

said.

 

After getting a whistleblower complaint from someone inside the farm,

PETA sent two undercover investigators to get hired at the farm and

document its practices -- one from June 10 to Sept. 8, and the other

from July 23 to Sept. 11.

 

At one point on the video, an employee shouts to an investigator, " Hurt

'em! There's nobody works for PETA out here. You know who PETA is? "

 

The undercover PETA investigator replies that he's heard of the group.

 

" I hate them. These (expletives) deserve to be hurt. Hurt, I say!, " the

employee yells as he hits a sow with a metal rod. " Hurt! Hurt! Hurt!

Hurt! ... Take out your frustrations on 'em. " He encourages the

investigator to pretend that one of the pigs scared off a voluptuous and

willing 17- or 18-year-old girl, and then beat the pig for it.

 

Records at the Greene County Assessor's Office show the property was

owned by Natural Pork Production II LLP of Iowa until Aug. 18, and then

was transferred to MowMar LLP of Fairmont, Minn.

 

Lynn Becker, an owner of MowMar, called the abuses on the video

" completely intolerable, reprehensible. We condemn these types of acts.

If any animals were abused in the brief time we've owned the farm, if we

still employ these people, any attempt will made to investigate and

initiate corrective action immediately. "

 

Becker said his company provided animal welfare training to the staff

when it took over the farm.

 

Natural Pork Production II referred questions to AMVC Management

Services, which managed the farm under its ownership. Mark Jones, AMVC's

network manager, said the video showed " unacceptable practices " and that

his company is working with the new ownership to investigate.

 

Craven, the Hormel spokeswoman, said the farm became a Hormel supplier

only after the change in ownership, and that MowMar " shares our

commitment to animal welfare and humane handling. "

 

Craven said it was her understanding that the abuses took place before

the change in ownership. But PETA's Friedrich said the abuses continued,

and that the new manager abused animals by shocking and kicking pigs.

 

Dr. Jennifer Greiner, a veterinarian and director of science and

technology at the National Pork Producers Council, said the industry

condemns " willful abuse " of pigs and that the video depicts acts that

are not acceptable.

 

" Our industry is committed to handling pigs humanely, " she said. " My

industry is full of good people. "

 

At one point in the video, workers are shown slamming piglets on the

ground, a practice designed to instantly kill those baby pigs that

aren't healthy enough. But on the video, the piglets are not killed

instantly, and in a bloodied pile, some piglets can be seen wiggling

vainly. The video also shows piglets being castrated, and having their

tails cut off, without anesthesia.

 

Temple Grandin, a leading animal welfare expert who serves as a

consultant to the livestock industry, said that while those are standard

industry practices, the treatment of the sows on the video was far from

it.

 

" This is atrocious animal abuse, " Grandin said after PETA sent her the

video. But she disagreed with PETA's contention that it was widespread

in the industry.

 

" I've been on many good farms, and the pigs are handled gently, " she

said. " This was blatant, deliberate animal cruelty. These people are

sick. They need to be prosecuted. There are certain people that enjoy

hurting animals and they should not be working with them -- period. "

 

One of the PETA investigators, who spoke on the condition of anonymity

to protect his ability to do further undercover operations, said there

was a culture of violence on the farm, and working there was an

emotionally and physically exhausting experience that typically involved

working 12-hour shifts and walking 15 miles a day.

 

" So many times, it took all of my willpower not to step up and do

something, " he said, adding that he also saw the supervisor shove a cane

into a sow's vagina. " I was just shocked. What do you say to that? "