New Undercover Footage Reveals Horrific Animal Abuse at a JBS Supplier Factory Farm

Hidden-camera footage recorded by a Mercy For Animals undercover investigator at a Kentucky pig factory farm owned by Tosh Farms, a JBS supplier, reveals horrific animal abuse. The investigator documented workers kicking and punching animals in their faces, ripping out the testicles of baby pigs without any pain relief, and violently smashing baby pigs headfirst against the ground to kill them.

The heartbreaking undercover footage also shows sick and injured piglets left to suffer without proper veterinary care and mother pigs kept in metal cages so tiny that the animals can’t even turn around or lie down comfortably, let alone walk, explore, or engage in other natural behaviors. These horrible cages are dubbed “gestation crates.”

JBS is the largest meat company in the world. There are more than 30 brands under the JBS umbrella, and the massive company has offices or slaughterhouses in over 20 countries. Tosh Farms alone confines about 30,000 “breeding sows who give birth to over 725,000 piglets each year.

Since these sensitive and intelligent animals are repeatedly impregnated and confined in gestation crates for nearly their entire unnaturally short lives, they suffer a number of significant health problems, including elevated risk of urinary tract infections, weakened bones, overgrown hooves, lameness, and stereotypies.

Pigs are every bit as capable of experiencing pain and sadness as our beloved dogs and cats, and they deserve protection from cruelty. But pigs raised for JBS are treated as mere meat-producing machines. Their short lives are filled with misery. Confined and deprived of mental stimulation, mother pigs are driven mad by boredom and stress. They repeatedly bite the bars of their cages—a sign of serious mental collapse.

See for yourself.

Gestation crates are so cruel they have been banned in 10 U.S. states, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand, and Australia. More than 60 major food companies—including McDonald’s, Walmart, Burger King, and Nestlé—have adopted policies to ban gestation crates from their supply chains.

MFA is calling on JBS to prohibit Tosh Farms, along with the rest of its suppliers worldwide, from cramming pigs into cages so small the animals can barely move. We are also urging the company to put an end to excruciating mutilations, such as tearing out the testicles, grinding down the teeth, and cutting off the tails of piglets without painkillers. There is no excuse for this horrific animal abuse. As the largest meat company in the world, JBS has the power and the responsibility to ban the worst factory farming practices in its entire supply chain.

And remember, every time we sit down to eat, we can promote kindness to animals. The most powerful choice compassionate consumers can make to protect pigs and other farmed animals from needless suffering is simply to leave them off their plates. Learn more about switching to a compassionate plant-based diet to prevent cruelty to all animals used for food. Then check out these plant-based bacon recipes and these amazing vegan versions of sausage.