Abuse at 'humane' abbatoir supplying big supermarkets

Workers have been filmed hitting suffering pigs at an RSPCA-backed slaughterhouse supplying pork to Tesco and other supermarkets. The scenes of cruelty were captured in secret filming at C&K Meats in Eye, Suffolk, which kills up to 1,400 pigs a day in gas chambers – both intensively-reared and free-range.

- JANE DALTON

The abattoir, which is endorsed by the RSPCA Assured scheme, sells pork to Tesco, the Co-op, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and Lidl among others. Some of it, such as bacon and sausages, is sold under differently branded labels. C&K Meats says it takes animal welfare seriously, with regular inspections by vets.

But the Animal Justice Project (AJP), which shot the footage, said that despite CCTV being on site and auditors being present, the footage suggested numerous apparent breaches of animal welfare laws including:

• Pigs being struck with instruments, causing pain and distress

• Visible injuries, lameness, wounds, abnormal growths and other deformities

• Unclean pens and poor hygiene practices

• Severe stress indicators, such as frothing at the mouth and heavy panting

Ayesha Smart, a barrister specialising in animal welfare law, said the footage appeared to show ”multiple and clear breaches” of statutory welfare regulations. The AJP investigator recorded a worker at C&K Meats saying: “Nothing we do for these pigs is for their benefit. From the moment they arrive, everything is geared towards their death.”

Another worker was recorded saying: “They do wind you up at times; anyone would think they didn’t want to die [laughs].” Workers struck pigs with their hands and with paddles, even though the animals had nowhere to go, and pigs were rushed to the gas chambers with excessive force, the witnesses claimed.

Alick Simmons, a former UK government deputy chief vet, said: “There were several instances in the footage where the use of the paddle for short periods verged on the excessive. “It is an offence to strike or kick animals in a slaughterhouse lairage [the area adjacent to the slaughterhouse, where animals are rested before they are killed].”