Only a few years after Mercy For Animals uncovered sickening
cruelty to animals at Christensen Farms in Minnesota—one of the largest
pork producers in the country—the factory farming giant is in the spotlight
again.
Our investigation exposed workers preparing to force-feed
diarrhea and their own dead piglets to mother pigs, pregnant pigs locked inside
barren metal gestation crates so small they could barely move for nearly their
entire lives, and many other appalling abuses.
This time, an investigator with Last Chance for Animals revealed similar horrors
at another Christensen Farms facility, often in full view of corporate
management, including:
- Workers hitting, kicking, and stabbing animals with sharp objects and dragging pigs by their ears and snouts
- Piglets carelessly tossed into gas chambers and left to suffer overnight because workers failed to confirm they were killed
- Pigs with large vaginal and anal prolapses and other severe injuries forced to walk or drag themselves before being shot
- Animals routinely left to suffer and slowly die without food, water, or proper veterinary care
Watch the undercover video here:
According to the Minneapolis
Star Tribune, seven workers have been suspended and a legal complaint
has been filed with the Rock County Sheriff’s Office detailing dozens of
incidents of criminal animal cruelty and neglect.
Although physical violence by workers
against pigs is common, one of the worst forms of institutionalized animal
abuse in the pork industry is the use of inherently cruel gestation crates—metal
and concrete cages that make it impossible for pigs to turn around or lie down
comfortably for nearly their entire lives. In fact, gestation crates are so
patently cruel they have been banned in nine U.S. states and the entire
European Union.
The good news is that each of us can
take a strong stand against cruelty to animals by simply leaving them off our
plates. Companies like Christensen Farms continue abusing animals because
consumers pay for it. By voting with our wallets and choosing healthy and
humane vegetarian alternatives to meat, milk, and eggs, we can rest assured our
money is not funding horrific animal abuse.
Please visit ChooseVeg.com
for more information.