After being alerted to the abuse, Sainsbury\u2019s, Tesco<\/a> and Morrisons<\/a>\u00a0said they had suspended their supplies from the farm.<\/p>\n Secret recordings obtained exclusively by this newspaper show a horrific catalogue of animal abuse carried out by sadistic workers<\/p>\n In one sickening scene, a farm worker grabs a squealing piglet by its hind legs, swings the terrified animal high above his head and smashes it down brutally on to the hard floor<\/p>\n Other harrowing footage shows distressing botched killings which left animals writhing in agony<\/p>\n Around 6,000 pigs are permanently confined inside cramped conditions there, with no access to the outdoors \u2013 and certainly not to the green fields and spacious pig pens pictured on Cranswick\u2019s website. Here they are reared, sometimes without ever seeing daylight, until they are taken to an abattoir.<\/p>\n The farm\u2019s parent company, Cranswick, sends more than 34,000 pigs to slaughter each week and generated \u00a3146 million revenue from fresh pork last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n It markets its meat as \u2018high welfare\u2019 and \u2018sustainable\u2019 and its website states: \u2018Animal welfare is at the heart of our business.\u2019 But the footage, recorded by an investigator wearing hidden cameras, shows repeated examples of farm workers killing piglets by smashing them against hard floors and walls.<\/p>\n This banned method of killing is called \u2018piglet thumping\u2019 and is a criminal offence. Piglets are killed if they are the runts of the litter \u2013 weak, sick or not growing fast enough to be profitable. It is thought they are then incinerated or used for pet food.<\/p>\n Eight thumpings were caught on camera during the course of the investigation. These were carried out by three members of staff as well as the farm manager, and one piglet was seen gasping for breath even after it had been violently thumped.<\/p>\n The use of blunt force trauma on piglets was outlawed in 2022 after repeated warnings from the UK\u2019s Animal Welfare Committee and the EU\u2019s Reference Centre for Animal Welfare. Both identified the method as unreliable, inhumane, and unnecessary given available alternatives, including shotguns and captive bolt guns.<\/p>\n Yet Northmoor\u2019s manager, Andrew Pentecost, 39, was recorded killing a piglet by thumping it against concrete.<\/p>\n Moments after he slammed the piglet, he told the undercover investigator: \u2018With small piglets we can do blunt force trauma to kill them… But the big ones we can\u2019t do that with \u2019cos they\u2019re too f***ing heavy.\u2019<\/p>\n On its website, Cranswick Farming portrays an idyllic public image, but the reality \u2013 at one of its farms at least \u2013 is horrifically different<\/p>\n Pictured: Northmoor Farm, where Cranswick’s workers have been beating piglets to death<\/p>\n The horrific abuse has been caught after being recorded by an investigator wearing hidden cameras<\/p>\n Piglets are killed if they are the runts of the litter \u2013 weak, sick or not growing fast enough to be profitable – it is thought they are then incinerated or used for pet food<\/p>\n Northmoor\u2019s manager Andrew Pentecost was filmed botching the killing of a sow by not restraining her properly, leaving the animal screaming and writhing in agony<\/p>\n He was also filmed botching the killing of a sow by not restraining her properly, leaving the animal screaming and writhing in agony after it had been shot until she was shot a second time, 22 seconds later.\u00a0<\/p>\n When the MoS approached Mr Pentecost for comment at his home in Scunthorpe, he denied piglet thumping went on at the farm.<\/p>\n The married father-of-three said: \u2018I have nothing to say about it. I am not aware of anything like that going on at the farm. I would not condone any behaviour like that. We have procedures to follow.\u2019<\/p>\n One staff member at the farm was also filmed shouting at a sow and repeatedly calling her a \u2018bitch\u2019 as he hit her in the face with a metal slat multiple times. Another admitted that a different staff member had been caught \u2018drop-kicking\u2019 the piglets.<\/p>\n The site overseer was recorded slamming a piglet against the ground and telling the undercover investigator: \u2018It\u2019s quicker, you know… when they\u2019re small like that you can do it.\u2019<\/p>\n With grim irony, a sign on a staff notice board reads: \u2018Don\u2019t go home until you have resolved any issue you wouldn\u2019t want to see in the media tomorrow.\u2019<\/p>\n Experts and MPs condemned the videos as \u2018sickening\u2019 and \u2018horrific\u2019 and called for Cranswick to be investigated.<\/p>\n Legal action has also been launched on behalf of Animal Justice Project, the animal rights group behind the investigation, citing multiple breaches of animal welfare and consumer law at the farm, which could lead to a criminal investigation.<\/p>\n When the MoS approached Mr Pentecost (above) for comment at his home in Scunthorpe, he denied piglet thumping went on at the farm<\/p>\n The married father-of-three (above) said: \u2018I have nothing to say about it. I am not aware of anything like that going on at the farm. I would not condone any behaviour like that. We have procedures to follow\u2019<\/p>\n Experts and MPs condemned the videos as \u2018sickening\u2019 and \u2018horrific\u2019 and called for Cranswick to be investigated<\/p>\n Last night, the group\u2019s barrister Ayesha Smart filed a formal complaint to Trading Standards, writing that the footage of Northmoor shows \u2018what is clearly a failure to act in accordance with the law\u2019.<\/p>\n She said: \u2018The use of blunt force trauma to kill piglets is banned \u2013yet it appears to be used routinely and without restraint. This isn\u2019t just shocking, it\u2019s unlawful.\u2019<\/p>\n And the group\u2019s founder, Claire Palmer, added: \u2018This 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<\/p>\n \u2018We 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘Ultimately, we\u2019re calling for a legislative phase-out of pig farming in favour of a food system that no longer depends on animal suffering.’<\/p>\n Responding to the findings, Cranswick said it had ordered an urgent investigation and had suspended the farm staff.<\/p>\n A spokesman said: \u2018The 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘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.\u2019<\/p>\n Responding to the findings, Cranswick said it had ordered an urgent investigation and had suspended the farm staff<\/p>\n In the footage, the pigs are visibly terrified as workers at the farm are captured aggresively kicking the metal bars of their pen<\/p>\n Dr Alick Simmons, the government\u2019s former deputy chief veterinary officer, said the footage shows \u2018repeated and ineffective attempts to kill piglets using blunt force trauma\u2019.<\/p>\n He added: \u2018That such practices are taking place on a large, commercial farm highlights a serious failure in training, management and oversight.<\/p>\n \u2018This is unacceptable, particularly when a humane and legally acceptable alternative exists. It causes significant suffering and has no place in modern farming.\u2019<\/p>\n The farm is approved by Red Tractor, a quality mark which is meant to ensure rigorous standards of animal welfare.\u00a0<\/p>\n This means supermarket shoppers buying bacon, sausages and ham which came from Northmoor will see the Red Tractor Union Jack stamp and the words \u2018Certified Pork\u2019 on the packaging \u2013 trusting that their meat has been humanely reared.<\/p>\n Approached for comment by the MoS, Red Tractor said it would immediately suspend the farm\u2019s certificate pending investigation.<\/p>\n Cranswick is a \u00a32.8 billion company that recently signed a ten-year deal to supply all of Sainsbury\u2019s British pork and is also a supplier to Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and others.The company recorded pre-tax profits of \u00a3176 million last year and its chief executive, Adam Couch, was paid \u00a33.3 million.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s bombshell revelations are the second recent blow for the company after its plans for a controversial mega farm in Norfolk were rejected last month over environmental concerns.<\/p>\n Images from Cranswick Farming’s website appear to show a perfect state of affairs for the animals<\/p>\n Piglets on the website are portayed to have a great life on Cranswick’s farms, yet the shocking footage shows that on at least one of its farms, this is not the case<\/p>\n A statement on Cranswick’s website reads that they are ‘committed to mantaining high welfare standards’<\/p>\n The farm was due to house up to 870,000 chickens and 14,000 pigs over two sites but received nearly 15,000 complaints. It was eventually blocked by councillors following fears from residents it would give out foul odours including ammonia fumes, attract swarms of flies and result in thousands of lorries driving past homes.<\/p>\n But today\u2019s revelations are likely to prove even more problematic for the compamy, with MPs of all stripes lining up to condem the abuse caught on camera.<\/p>\n Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said he would be tabling a written question in Parliament this week to ask the Government what it intends to do to \u2018clamp down on this illegal and barbaric practice\u2019 of thumping.<\/p>\n He added: \u2018I am absolutely horrified by the video footage unearthed by The Mail on Sunday which shows piglet slamming. The fact that this inhumane practice is happening in this country, where we rightly pride ourselves as having the best animal welfare standards in the world, is sickening.\u2019<\/p>\n Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: \u2018The footage from Northmoor Farm is truly sickening. This blatant and disgusting abuse shows disregard for the welfare of these animals and the law.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘The revolting practice of piglet slamming was outlawed in 2022. Time and time again, government has failed to enforce humane standards through proper spot checks and adequately rigorous prosecution.\u2019<\/p>\n![\"Secret](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/98256821-14699109-image-a-92_1746910114829.jpg\")
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