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The Humane Society says this image was taken at the Seaboard Foods' pig farm in Goodwell, Okla., in late 2011. The pigs are in stalls that measure two by seven feet, a practice that had been routine until other major pork producers announced plans to do away with them.
Aiming to pressure two of the largest U.S. producers of pork, one of them a Walmart supplier, into changing how they treat pigs, the Humane Society of the United States on Tuesday said it had staged undercover operations that revealed atrocious conditions.
Alleged abuses against the animals include the use of extremely confined crates as well as the cutting off of tails and testicles with no painkillers.
"Lame pigs, pigs with gross abscesses, torn ears and noses, and ripped genitals and piglets sickened by 'greasy pig' disease were not seen by veterinarians," the group said in a statement released along with what it said was undercover video.
The allegations focus on two pig farms in Goodwell, Okla., one owned by Seaboard Foods and the other by Prestage Farms.
The Humane Society also filed federal complaints against Seaboard alleging that it made false and misleading statements about treating its animals humanely.
Seaboard has a public "Commitment to Animal Care" that states: "We are committed to proper animal care and have a moral and ethical obligation to the humane treatment of animals. We believe food animals can and should be raised, transported and processed using procedures that are safe and free from cruelty and neglect."
On Tuesday, Seaboard posted a statement on its website saying it strongly disputed "any allegations of abuse."
Ron Prestage, who owns Prestage Farms with his parents and siblings, told Reuters the video did not appear to show any neglect or abuse at their farm. He added that the company has initiated an internal investigation to ensure company policies are followed.
"There is nothing for me to defend in the video. We have both systems (gestation crates and group pens) and have for years," Prestage said.
The video shows pigs penned in cages that the Humane Society described as "so small the animals can't even turn around, rendering them virtually immobilized for their entire lives."
The group said its undercover operatives also "found workers cutting piglets testicles and tails off with no painkiller, injured piglets with their legs duct taped to their bodies, gestation crates overflowing with feces and urine and employees hitting pigs’ genitals to force them to move from one crate to another."
Gestation crates are stalls where female pigs are placed during pregnancy.
STORY: Smithfield vows breathing room for pregnant pigs
Both companies are "lagging behind" competitors like Cargill and Smithfield Foods, the Humane Society said, noting that those had recently pledged improvements such as ending the use of gestation crates by 2017.
In its statement Tuesday, Seaboard said that its "integrated system uses both stalls and group pens to house gestating sows. Animal welfare experts and professional groups have found no one method for housing gestating sows that is clearly better than the other when managed properly."
Prestage said that "there are times when each system has its advantages. If you have an animal that's gotten injured, it's much easier to treat them if they are in an individual crate. If they happen to be on the bottom of the pecking order, the other ones are just going to beat them up.
"On the other hand, if there is no fighting, you might decide they are happier in a group pen," he added.
Reuters contributed to this report.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
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I like pork and all but I sure don't like seeing them abused. Poor things
Yea. This is wild. I went to chooseveg.com (or org, can't remember) and watched all the video on animal cruelty ate these factories. It's disturbing. The individuals that partake in these inhumane actions should be evaluated as well. I love bacon just as much as the next guy, but I would really like to see something done about the heinous neglect and torture these animals go through just because their purpose is to die. Isn't that everyone's purpose?
If it's in your budget you can get pork, beef, chicken, and eggs from farmers directly. Our local farmers' market is a good place to make contact.
Pigs, Cattle, Chickens etc. I've seen 'em all. Corporations call the Hogs mess "Parlors". Hellish way to treat the animals we eat, and often, hellish meat to eat. No reason for it either. They would make more money selling better product, by allowing them the range they inherently require. Gwaddamn money grubbing Vultures raising animals. Lots of us see how our food is raised and processed we wouldn't eat it.
I used to get a newsletter about these sorts of things. The treatment listed in this article is commonplace, not just a few bad apples. What we do to chickens is just as bad, and you all remember the video of a cow with a broken leg being shock-herded into the slaughterhouse because they're worth more if they can move on their own.
Some people genuinely don't care how our livestock is treated, but many more put their hands to their ears while saying "la la la."
Not me! I pat my head, rub my belly and chew gum!
If you don't get to see your meat alive before it is butchered, then you can probably rest assured that it lived and died horribly. You can effectively assume that you're consuming misery and suffering.
The point of a factory farm is to produce meat cheaply; there are practically no points given, and scant little attention paid, to acting humanely, responsibly, ethically.
You all think this is bad? What about the poor hogs in the North Georgia backwoods. They're likely to encounter some toothless, savage hillbillies that make them squeal like a pig. Oink!
Extreme abuse against pigs—yes we eat them, nothing more extreme than that
One of the saddest things I've ever seen was a truck load of pigs being carted down the freeway. All you could see were their little snouts poking out of their crates. Pigs are more intelligent than dogs, and prefer by nature to be clean, yet we keep them in these conditions for their entire short lives before eating them.
I am not a vegetarian, and my favorite meats to eat are bacon and ham, and BBQ pulled pork. This does not stop me from respecting pigs as creatures and wishing for them to be treated humanely, and to have something of a life, free of suffering, before they must die. Factory farming doesn't just harm them, it harms us as well... we are eating animals that are full of disease, antibiotics, and stress hormones. I try to support local farmers who raise animals that can run free for a little while before they become our food.
I totally agree and I've also seen trucks hauling pigs. It was one of the saddest things I've ever seen...heart-breaking.
No living creature should be forced to suffer their entire lives -- to do so makes us less than human. I'm a meat-eater too.. It's a fact of life in our world, but abuse and neglect is inexcusable.
I love meat and probably eat more steak and burgers than i should. But i really beleive we need to start efforts to reduce meat consumption in this country, and to remove as much meat from our diets as possible. we can feed many more people if we didnt waste so much resources on raising animals.
Fed to an estimated 60 to 80 percent of pigs in the United States, ractopamine has sickened or killed more of them than any other livestock drug on the market, and the public is being used as guinea pigs with long term health risks unknown. Stop the abuse, and save your health...what a deal. Solution is obvious.
Wow. So heart breaking. You never imagine this when you're eating a ham sandwich...just wow.
i bet it's a republican conservative that runs that place ; look how romney made his dog ride on top of his car , '' down the highway '' !!!!!!!!! heartless toward anything below the 1% bracket
I bet you were pulling your "Pork" as you were getting off on your fantasy world post!
i do not eat pork and it breaks my heart to see these pigs suffering. pigs are intelligent and adorable animals!
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by how it treats its animals" Gandhi. Now for all of you who keep eating pork you are just contributing to the problem. I do not eat meat or wear leather (yes including shoes) I am not basically opposed to people eating meat, but I am completely opposed to the way these animals are treated. Not surprised Walmart is involved. They don't treat people very well either. Look up how the pigs are treated that are shipped to Hawaii...and yet everyone jumps for joy at a luau. No thanks! A one month boycott of meat in the US would turn these guys around.
With respect, afiac, pigs are treated better than chickens; cattle are treated just as bad as pigs; and while fish may or may not be treated humanely while they're farmed (some are; some aren't) there is actually no humane way of slaughtering fish.
I was WAY off, I thought the 2 pig farms were referring to the House and Senate.
You are just so cute. Some of us actually think this is a problem to be dealt with .
I am a vegetarian for a number of reasons. One of the greatest being the inhumane treatment of the animals. This article is not suprising at all to me. Just wish more people would become aware how widespread and accepted the abuse is in the industry.
Porky is that you?
Aw, what have they done to you, lad??
I'd hate to see how some of these farm workers treat their children if they can't even treat a poor pig with some dignity.
That is the kind of mental leap the Humane Scociety likes. Farmers represent less than 3% of the population, and most people have no idea what a farmer is really like. I know lots of them. They are no meaner than other people, and probably less than most. They actually love their children as much as everyone else and treat them very well. Why do people need to make these kind of value judgements about a class of people they don't even know? Get to know the truth before condemning others. This article isn't even a good start.
While I think it is a bit of a leap to go from the gross inhumanity of the meat industry to child abuse of children of meat industry workers, there is a legitimate question to be raised about the impact on those workers of being forced to conduct themselves in such a cruel manner to comply with the parameters of farm operations.
they should be fined heavily and forced to change immediately or closed till they comply
They're just the ones who got caught.
Wow ending the suffering by 2017 - we really suck as a species don't we?
And this is why I like the Humane Society - they pick their battles carefully with the focus on practical improvement of animal welfare. I hope that the companies change their practices soon - all animals - to be slaughtered or no - shouldn't have to live with abuse.
Same treatment for the owners.
Oh, boo hoo....painkillers to castrate a pig? We gonna pay someone to wipe their asses for them too? Obviously none of you clowns has ever worked in the meat packing industry, or around livestock. There is no way to pamper animals meant for slaughter. Are you willing to pay a $1 more a poundfor your bacon or pork? That is what all these bleeding heart notions will amount to...higher costs at the store. They already pump the bacon full of water to boost the weight. They cage the pigs and feed them grain to keep them clean and from them being exposed to trichinosis which all free ranging or wild pork has a 100% chance of being infected with. Please bandage you bleeding hearts and get a life. Pretty soon feed lots will be banned too, and ground beef will be $10 a pound and steaks unaffordable.
It's people like you that make the meat industry in this country so horrible. I bet you'd be saying a hell of a lot more than "boo hoo" if someone castrated you without painkillers. I would gladly pay $1 more per pound if I knew the animals hadn't suffered...they don't necessarily have to be pampered, but I don't think keeping them as free from pain as possible is too much to ask. This is exactly why I stopped supporting the meat industry all together.
I'm a proud meat eater, hunter, and have lived on a farm all of my life. I respect animals more than most because they are our livelihood here in the country. There are some people like dysphoria, for example, that are somewhat misinformed. According to dysphoria, pigs "prefer by nature to be clean". Please cite your reference for that dysphoria. You have obviously never been around or raised pigs. I have never seen a pig choose a shower over a mudhole. Pigs are animals, just like cattle, goats and sheep. They were put here to feed man. Man was put here to have dominion over all animals. Does that mean we get to do what we want to the animals? Of course not. They should be treated fair and kind.
"Alleged abuses against the animals include the use of extremely confined crates as well as the cutting off of tails and testicles with no painkillers."
I'm not sure where those that allege abuse were born or raised, but it wasn't on a farm. I have never even heard of a rancher giving pain killers before cutting an animal. That's just life. Tails were probably bitten off by other pigs, I can't think of a reason a human would cut off a pig's tail. People like to think that their pigs were raised on the farm in Charlotte's Web or something and have no sense of real life. Yes, that pig probably lives in a small confined space. This adds more fat to the animal, which is demanded by the public. Have you ever gotten much bacon off a feral pig? No. They are all muscle. They free range and have a complete different muscle build than a domestic pig. You don't get a nice big fatty ham, bacon, or ham hock off of them. The costs that would be involved in order to raise livestock in accordance with the "Humane Society" rules would be astronomical, and no one would pay that. They would rather have cheap meat and bitch about the conditions.
Again, I am more for fair treatment of animals than anyone, but I am also a realist. I know what raising livestock entails, and it isn't always pretty.
If you raise these animals and still feel this way (that "it isn't always pretty" -- and apparently never will be in your view) then you're simply part of the problem. The food industry portrays itself as a "Charlotte's Web farm." The image was fed to the public, not created by the public (much like big tobacco). So, it's no wonder people are sickened to see the reality..and since you are supporting the myth and not helping to change the problems, then you are the problem. Its a shame that your can't see the double message in your own argument.
One last thing..."Man was put here to have dominion over all animals." Really? A religious argument? God told you to eat meat? Maybe God put animals here to see if you could figure out that you shouldn't treat another living, breathing thing poorly. You do have the ability to make moral choices right? Why does morality take a break at the dinner table?
Why don't you just look at your teeth? They will tell you that you are an omnivore- meaning you are designed to eat meat and veggies, grasses , etc. I don't need a arguement, moral or otherwise, to tell me what to eat.
No they weren't. They were "put here" for the same reason we were put here, to live our lives.
No we weren't. We are stewards over the land and animals; caretakers - not legitimized abusers.
Precisely.
The "production" methods on factory farms don't necessarily include the skilled, humane dispatch that you seem to be familiar with, thereby pain killers or (more typically) stunning the animal before dispatch is imperative.
The abusively close quarters that factory farms insist on cause the animals to become hyper-aggressive, and so factory farms often maim the animals to preclude them from harming each other in the life-long mania that ensues. This includes cutting of pig tails, snipping chicken beaks, etc.
That may be a benefit, but the main reason is that factory farms insist on maximum yield. They found that, discarding human decency and cramming more animals in smaller spaces, they can more efficiently make profit. They trade off humanity for money.
True. Growing meat reasonably, responsibly, humanely, like farms did fifty years ago and more, would result in meat being rarely affordable. It would become a treat, very much like it was for the majority of people centuries ago. The question is whether losing our humanity is worth slaking blood-thirst more often.
Yup.
Sorry to disagree with you. If you are a farmer you must be one of the abusers. The issue is nt pain killers etc., it is the life and treatment of the animal while it is alive. My Grandmother had a farm in Minnesota, Breckenridge to be exact. Her animals were never squished into cages ....ever. One of my best friends is a deer hunter....not my taste, but he does not put a deer in a cage and then slit its throat...sometimes killing it or sometimes not. i think you are an a--h--e.....you are so smart fill in the blanks. I bet you hit your kids.
I think it is pretty harsh to judge scott as an abuser based on what little he's said in this thread, elizabeth. There is enough real horror to relay, regarding this topic, without artificially escalating the rhetoric.
Animals were put here to feed us? What Bible told you that? Man is the worst of all animals with his talent to slaughter animals. You respect animals and yet list hunting as an accomplishment? What is it that you respect? The blood or the slaughter aspect? You need the horns or the stuffed head? What am I missing?
You are missing lots JPRhedd.
Please JPRhedd, inform me where all meat has come from, from the beginning of time, up until the last 50 years? Hunting? If you were hungry a hundred years ago, all you had was a rifle. How did you survive? You hunted for meat. I am glad you are so enlightened that you think you are superior to all of man because you buy your meat at Homeland and do not harvest it yourself. I do not choose to do that. The meat I eat is free range meat, exactly as all you tree huggers claim you want. I know exactly how this animal was treated during harvest. I process the meat myself, so I know what goes in it. There are no hormones, steroids, mistreatment, abuse, suffering of any kind.
Since you are so high and mighty, what do you do for animals? Sit there and bitch about meat eaters? I plant food plots for wild animals, I build them habitat, provide them with food and cover. I give to multiple organizations such as Ducks Unlimited that do nothing BUT create and restore habitat that man has destroyed.
So please, JPRhedd. Tell me what you do for animals?
Since you ask, let me enlighten you. I run a donkey and horse rescue. I take in abused animals on my farm. I have no hunting on my acres where the deer live in peace amongst the horses and donkeys. Wild turkeys are also protected. I don't cut down tress or destroy the environment. I have been a contributor for more than 40 years to animal rescues. I educate people whenever I can. BUt most of all I am kind to my fellow humans unlike you. I feel no need to brag or belittle others.
Since you
G R E E D
Settle down and get into the kitchen and get me some "Bacon & Eggs"!
The Ultimate result of free market competition is Minimum Quality and Maximum Profits.
I eat pork at least 2or3 times a week.I really can't feel bad becuase they were killed and butchered this has been going on for thousands of years. I know we must be PC and not do anyting that upsets anyone
The problem is not that it exists, but could we as thinking creatures make it more humane. I doubt that even 100 years ago animals were so confined that they could not even turn around. If you continue your twice or thrice consumption of pork a week you should be made to see yourself how these animals are treated and then you come and tell me you think that is okay..............assuming you are not demented.
False. Intensive pig farming is a relatively new human "invention".
Like the atomic bomb.
Eating meat is not a "fact of life". It is a profit-driven exploitation of life. We have been conditioned by millions of commercials, traditions, and religion to disassociate from the cruelty on our dinner plates. Melanie Joy, author of "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows - An Introduction to Carnism" calls it 'Psychic Numbing'.
Pigs are not food animals anymore than dogs are in China. YOU don't get to determine the worth of another Being's life. Just because you have the power to kill, doesn't mitigate your obligation to compassion. Take your blinders off. Think for yourself. There is no humane way to murder a sentient Being. It defies commonsense - "humane murder". Think about it. Go Vegan.
I thought to my self: "Self, what would you like for dinner"? Self said to Self, " Go get some Sausage and Hot Dogs and cook them on the grill"! I said to Myself: "Self, that's a great idea"!
Think for yourself". Think about it. Go Pork yourself!
Wow. Let's just totally overlook thousands of years of history. When we started eating meat there was no advertising, no profiteering, only survival. The meat we consume now has little connection to what we used to eat, and still should be. Chemicals, antibiotics, hormones etc. all not good for us. Excessive levels of fat from forcing rapid growth for quicker profits. Refined processing. Better living through modern chemistry. Right. What we eat now is poison. What we ate for millennia was pure food, high calory protein we hunted or raised ourselves for consumption. We also used a lot less of it, eating what we needed as it was too difficult to get to waste. Any book stating we are not to eat anlmal flesh goes against thousands of years of actual practice. Some Chinese do not have our emotional attachment to certain creatures that we do. I do not eat dogs as they are companions I prefer to most people. I am not Chinese. I also do not eat Guinea Pig, much enjoyed in South America. I do, however, eat rabbit and enjoy it. Different strokes for different folks. And yes, if I caught someone trying to catch and eat my Newfie I'd probably slam their head through a wall and stomp their gnads flat.
There are several resources that might interest you:
Gary Yourofsy's speech at Georgia Tech:
A Delicate Balance - The Truth: #
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows - An Introduction to Carnism:
These would all help you make the transition from opinion to fact, from ignorance to awareness, from cruelty to compassion.
A friend of mine recently wrote about video's on farms. I have to agree with her, and love the examples she uses of farmers who do just this. bit.ly/Anl37w
Are those the ones with donkeys in Mexico?
WE thought the article was going to be about sexual abuse to the pigs! We were suprised not to see a photograph farm boy wearing rubber boots with his pants down around his knees...... (and a smiling pig)
We? What did you do, invite your buddies over like a Pay Per View party?
Tell them to pull their pants up and go home!