Undercover Investigations - Mercy For Animals Undercover Investigations

Undercover Investigations

Behind closed doors, animals are suffering at factory farms. Mercy For Animals’ brave undercover investigators work to expose and end the abuse.

A Mother’s Cry

Released in 2025

2:57 min

She had just given birth—and then they took her baby. This dairy farm investigation reveals newborn calves stolen from their mothers, violent abuse, and routine suffering.

Exposing the Truth

At industrial farms and slaughterhouses, farmed animals endure shocking abuse, out of sight and out of mind. But a team of Mercy For Animals undercover investigators, wired with hidden cameras, is pulling back the curtains of these cruel and secretive operations, leading to landmark changes along the way.

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United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Leprino and Saputo Supplier

A Mercy For Animals investigation exposes the heart-wrenching reality for cows in the dairy industry. Cows, like all mammals, produce milk to nourish their young. But in the dairy industry, mothers never get that chance. Instead, they live a life of loss, used for profit until they are killed. Infections, injuries, unsanitary conditions, and heartbreak are the norm throughout the dairy industry.

June 11, 2025

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

The Pork Industry Exposed

A new Mercy For Animals investigation into a Pork Quality Assurance Plus-certified farm exposes extreme cruelty and the pork industry’s misleading claims about higher animal welfare standards.

November 5, 2024

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Pilgrim’s Contract Farms

Hidden-camera footage from a Mercy For Animals investigator exposes cruelty to chickens at various contract farms for Pilgrim’s Pride, the second-largest poultry company in the United States. Despite looming “ag-gag” threats, the investigation reveals chickens in overcrowded, filthy conditions being kicked against barn walls and thrown into cramped transport cages at facilities raising animals for Pilgrim’s Pride, which supplies major restaurant chains, including KFC and Popeyes.

April 11, 2024

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

George’s Inc. Slaughterhouse, Chipotle Supplier

New hidden-camera footage reveals horrors of industrial animal agriculture. Chickens are hastily hung upside down by their legs before being dragged through electrified water. Some are not properly rendered unconscious and are able to feel pain as their throats are cut.

February 29, 2024

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Pardon a Turkey

A brave Mercy For Animals investigator went undercover at two factory turkey farms in Minnesota, documenting what life is like for the birds trapped inside them. The heart-wrenching footage reveals charred baby turkeys tangled in electrical wire, birds with bleeding wounds suffering without veterinary care, and thousands of turkeys crammed into warehouses.

November 21, 2023

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

EATS Act Exposed

Mercy For Animals released some of the most horrific animal cruelty footage ever made public. The undercover footage, taken at a massive pig farm in Nebraska and featured in the New York Times, reveals pigs going mad from boredom and stress.

August 22, 2023

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Chicken Industry Exposed

The footage exposes animals living in crowded conditions and suffering the consequences of rapid growth at three Brazilian farms. These farms raise animals for slaughterhouses authorized to export to the European Union and other countries.

May 2, 2023

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Animals Under Attack

This undercover investigation by Mercy For Animals exposes the heartbreaking conditions pregnant pigs endure at factory farms—the type of cruelty the meat industry is fighting before the U.S. Supreme Court to keep.

October 17, 2022

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

ALDI Supplier 2

In Mercy For Animals’ second video from an investigation conducted at an ALDI supplier, actress and mother Daniella Monet shares the story of Rose, a baby chicken raised for meat.

July 21, 2022

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Municipal Slaughterhouses

This investigation documented the use of sledgehammers, which is forbidden by Brazilian regulations, in a municipal slaughterhouse.

May 2, 2022

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

ALDI Supplier 1

A Mercy For Animals investigator uncovered immense suffering at a farm that raises chickens for an ALDI supplier. Footage shows days-old chicks suffering from severe open wounds and other serious injuries. Live chickens are tossed onto piles of their dead flockmates and left to be crushed by the corpses thrown on after them.

April 21, 2022

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

LALA Dairy Supplier 2

This undercover investigation by Mercy For Animals captures the moment in which a cow is subjected to a terribly cruel dehorning without any anesthesia.

February 22, 2022

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Costco Supplier 2

Mercy For Animals joined forces with animal activist Woody Harrelson to share never-before-seen footage exposing the shocking treatment of Costco chickens.

January 1, 2022

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Cattle Slaughterhouse

A Mercy For Animals undercover investigation into a large cattle slaughterhouse in Brazil exposes the physical and psychological suffering that animals are subjected to in these facilities. The images captured also reveal the industrial scale of the slaughter.

December 2, 2021

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Cattle Feedlot

A Mercy For Animals investigator documented unimaginable cruelty in the final days of a cattle herd. As temperatures hit triple digits, cattle were denied shelter, shade, or a cooling system.

February 1, 2021

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Costco Supplier 1

Hidden-camera footage reveals the horrible truth of what happens to Costco chickens behind closed doors: crowded, filthy barns; chickens struggling to walk under their own unnatural weight; dead days-old chicks; and piles of rotting birds.

February 1, 2021

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

LALA Dairy Supplier 1

The investigation exposes cruel and inhumane practices at a farm that supplies Grupo LALA, one of the largest dairy companies of Latin America. Dehorning without anesthesia, lack of proper veterinary care, mistreatment of calves and violent separation from their mothers, dead animals hanging in plain sight, forced impregnations, hormone injections: these and other practices that seem to have inspired a horror movie lie hidden behind the farm walls.

February 1, 2021

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Pork Industry

For the first time, a Mercy For Animals investigator exposed a pig slaughterhouse in Brazil operated by the world’s largest meat company, JBS. This investigation also exposes several hog farms in south and southeast Brazil—including one JBS supplier—and some of the worst standard practices in the pork industry.

February 1, 2020

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Live Animal Export 2

This new live-export investigation, the second released by Mercy For Animals, reveals animals loaded onto ships with electric prods before traveling for weeks across the Atlantic Ocean. After an agonizing journey, many arrive at the destination country to be brutally killed—workers slash their legs and stab these fully conscious animals.

February 1, 2020

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Egg Factory Farm

A former Mercy For Animals investigator exposed the extreme suffering of hens at a U.S. egg factory farm—including hundreds of thousands of animals packed so tightly into filthy wire cages they could hardly move and dead hens rotting in cages with birds still laying eggs for human consumption.

February 1, 2020

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Naturovos

This investigation into the largest egg producer in southern Brazil exposes the horrible suffering of chickens confined in cages. The images show sick and injured hens, some with torn feet and organs protruding from their bodies, infested with lice and trapped in cage wire, unable to reach water and food.

February 1, 2020

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

High-Speed Slaughter Lines

Shocking footage reveals the horrors of high-speed chicken slaughter, such as fully conscious birds hung upside down by their legs on a rapid live-shackle line and sick chickens thrown away like trash or kept on the line for slaughter.

February 1, 2020

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Egg Factory Farms

Undercover footage of egg farms in Mexico, taken at seven facilities in Nuevo León, Yucatán, and Jalisco, exposes horrific animal cruelty and significant public health threats.

February 1, 2020

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Farmed Fish Industry

Narrated by the TV star Kristin Bauer, this shocking investigation into the farmed fish industry exposes fish forced to live by the tens of thousands in ponds; cut in half while conscious and able to feel pain; lifted out of ponds in nets, unable to breathe and crushing one another; and left to suffocate slowly at slaughterhouses.

February 1, 2020

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Live Animal Export

Shocking footage has uncovered cows on arrival to the countries of destination being painfully craned by their legs from inside a live export ship. Slaughterhouse workers stab animals, slash their legs with knives, and cut open their throats while they are conscious and able to feel pain.

February 1, 2019

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Animal Transportation

Shocking video footage exposes the appalling conditions animals face on the journey from farm to slaughterhouse in Mexico, including crowded, filthy conditions inside transport trucks and no access to food or water. Workers callously toss and hit animals, and animals become trapped and seriously injured or killed when they are crushed by transport crates.

February 1, 2019

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Municipal Slaughter 6

New video footage reveals for the sixth time the horrific animal suffering inside Mexico’s government-owned slaughterhouses, including baby pigs carelessly tossed, cut open, and left bleeding—all while conscious and able to feel pain.

February 1, 2019

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Municipal Slaughterhouse 7

Venezuelan television star María Gabriela de Faría narrates horrific new video footage revealing, for the seventh time, the appalling animal suffering inside Mexico’s government-owned slaughterhouses, including pregnant cows repeatedly shot with stun guns, kicked, dragged, and cut open while still able to feel pain.

February 1, 2019

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Driftnet Fishing Industry 1

Undercover footage exposes workers viciously mutilating stingrays and sawing fins off sharks while the animals are still alive and protected species, like dolphins, sea lions, and seabirds, killed by the cruel driftnet fishing industry.

February 1, 2018

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Driftnet Fishing Industry 2

Undercover video footage reveals the systemic animal cruelty and environmental devastation of the commercial driftnet fishing industry.

February 1, 2018

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Driftnet Fishing Industry 3

Multiple investigations reveal that blatant animal abuse runs rampant on commercial driftnet fishing boats. Sharks are painfully pierced with hooks, stabbed, and bludgeoned over the head with a baseball bat and dolphins and other marine animals are trapped and killed in fishing nets.

February 1, 2018

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Maple Lodge Farms

Hidden-camera footage recorded by a Mercy For Animals whistleblower at a hatchery owned by Maple Lodge Farms exposes baby chicks ground up alive, roughly slammed onto equipment, and viciously killed by having their necks smashed against metal edges of factory machines.

February 1, 2018

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Tosh Farms

Shocking undercover footage taken at a JBS supplier reveals sickening animal cruelty, including pigs punched and kicked in the face; mother pigs confined to cages so small they are unable to even turn around; and piglets painfully mutilated, suffering from untreated injuries and illness, and killed by having their heads smashed against the ground.

February 1, 2018

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Chicken Factory Farms

Shocking undercover footage taken at multiple factory farms in Brazil exposes horrific suffering in the chicken industry, including baby chicks having their necks violently smashed against factory equipment, birds suffering from painful leg deformities, and chickens forced to live crammed by the tens of thousands in filthy sheds.

February 1, 2018

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Pig Farms Investigation

Heartbreaking undercover video taken at six pig factory farms across Mexico captures mother pigs confined to filthy cages so small the animals can’t even turn around, piglets mutilated without painkillers, and many sick and injured pigs left to suffer without proper veterinary care.

February 1, 2018

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Pig Factory Farms

Undercover video footage reveals the systemic animal cruelty in the pork industry, including stressed mother pigs confined to tiny metal crates, trapped between cage bars, and workers senselessly ripping out the testicles of baby pigs without any pain relief and violently killing them by smashing their heads against the ground.

February 1, 2018

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Egg Factory Farm

New video footage shows thousands of hens crammed inside tiny, filthy cages; birds trapped in sharp wire or under feed troughs; and dead birds left to decompose next to hens still laying eggs for human consumption.

February 1, 2017

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Aurora

Shocking video footage at an Aurora cooperative factory farm exposes workers slicing off the tails, cutting holes in the ears, and grinding the teeth of baby piglets without any pain relief; animals suffering from untreated injuries and illnesses; and mother pigs crammed in tiny gestation crates.

February 1, 2017

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Lilydale

Disturbing undercover video of gruesome animal abuse at more than a dozen Lilydale chicken supplier farms exposes management standing by while workers torment animals with crude sex acts and rough handling, including punting and throwing birds, and ripping the legs off conscious animals.

February 1, 2017

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

The Maschhoffs

At this Hormel pork supplier, a Mercy For Animals investigator exposed horrific animal abuse, including baby piglets having their testicles viciously ripped out and their sensitive tails cut off without any pain relief, sick and injured animals languishing without proper veterinary care, and mother pigs crammed into tiny, filthy crates.

February 1, 2017

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Municipal Slaughter 5

TV and film icon, Eugenio Derbez, narrates this disturbing new video taken inside a government-owned slaughterhouse that exposes animals painfully shocked, beaten, and cut open while still able to feel pain.

February 1, 2017

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Murmac Farms

Upsetting undercover footage shot at a dairy factory farm exposes calves stolen from their mothers shortly after they are born, tossed onto the hard ground, and left to suffer from untreated injuries and illnesses.

February 1, 2017

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Municipal Slaughter 4

Appalling footage, never seen by the public, exposes animals shocked, dragged, and cut open while fully conscious and able to feel pain.

February 1, 2017

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Municipal Slaughter 2

MFA’s undercover investigator speaks out against the shocking animal abuse she uncovered at Mexico’s government-owned slaughterhouses, including fully conscious animals violently hooked in the mouth, strung upside down, and stabbed in the throat and chest while screaming out in pain.

February 1, 2016

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Municipal Slaughter 3

Narrated by TV and film icon Eugenio Derbez, this graphic video exposes animals cruelly shocked with electric prods, beaten over the head with sledgehammers, dragged to the kill floor, and viciously stabbed—while fully conscious and able to feel pain.

February 1, 2016

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Shady Brae Farms

Disturbing undercover footage of shocking animal abuse at a United Egg Producers-certified egg factory farm shows thousands of birds packed so tightly into filthy wire cages they can hardly move and dead hens rotting in cages with live birds still laying eggs for human consumption.

February 1, 2016

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Tyson Foods

A brand-new Mercy For Animals investigation has shined a spotlight on the world’s largest and most notorious animal-abusing company: Tyson Foods. The video shows countless birds crammed into filthy, windowless sheds and forced to live for weeks in their own waste and toxic ammonia fumes.

February 1, 2016

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Eggland’s Best

A new Mercy For Animals investigation uncovers sickening animal cruelty and neglect at an Eggland’s Best supplier. Dead birds rot in cages with hens still laying eggs destined for the country’s breakfast plates, and workers violently rip birds out of cages and throw them into trash cans to be cruelly gassed to death.

February 1, 2016

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Gray Ridge Egg Farms

This hidden-camera footage reveals the dark underbelly of the egg industry. Birds are crammed for nearly their entire lives in tiny cages, unable to walk without stepping on other birds. Their feet ache from standing on metal wire. Dead birds are left to rot in cages alongside hens still laying eggs for human consumption.

February 1, 2016

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Lilydale

Shocking hidden-camera footage obtained by Mercy For Animals reveals horrific cruelty to animals, including turkeys violently slammed into metal shackles before being painfully shocked with electricity and having their throats cut open while still conscious and able to feel pain.

February 1, 2016

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Municipal Slaughter 1

Graphic video footage inside Mexico’s government-owned slaughterhouses exposes animals painfully shocked in the eyes, hoisted upside down by chains, and bellowing in distress while choking on their own blood and vomit—all while still conscious and able to feel pain.

February 1, 2016

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Foster Farms

Bob Barker, former host of The Price Is Right, narrates an undercover video exposing birds scalded alive at Foster Farms—certified as “humane” by American Humane Association—and workers maliciously punching and throwing chickens, and ripping out their feathers for fun.

February 1, 2015

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Wayne Farms

Undercover footage from a poultry supplier to Gordon Food Service—the largest private foodservice distributor in North America—has exposed horrific cruelty to animals, including baby birds violently slammed into metal shackles before being painfully shocked with electricity and having their throats cut open.

February 1, 2015

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Maple Lodge Farms

At Maple Lodge Farms, countless birds freeze to death during transport. Those who survive are violently slammed into metal shackles before being painfully shocked with electricity and having their throats cut open while still conscious and able to feel pain.

February 1, 2015

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Tyson Foods

MFA’s hidden camera caught workers at McGinnis Farms—a Tyson Foods contract farm—carelessly kicking, clubbing, and throwing chickens while thousands of severely sick and injured animals were left to suffer without proper veterinary care or access to food and water.

February 1, 2015

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Tyson Foods

Undercover video shot at T & S Farm—a contract farm for Tyson Foods and a McDonald’s McNugget supplier—revealed owners impaling birds with makeshift spiked clubs and stepping on birds’ heads while pulling their wings or bodies to break their necks.

February 1, 2015

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods and several of its workers face 33 counts of criminal cruelty to animals charges following the release of this hidden-camera footage exposing workers punching, throwing, and tormenting chickens for fun and ripping off their heads while they are still alive and conscious.

February 1, 2015

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Perdue Farms

A Perdue factory farmer was charged with felony animal cruelty after MFA caught him kicking and throwing chickens and violently stomping them to death. The shocking investigation also exposed birds bred to grow unnaturally fast suffering from painful leg deformities and dying from heart attacks.

February 1, 2015

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Cactus Acres Holsteins

Hidden-camera video footage from Cactus Acres Holsteins—a Dairy Farmers of America supplier—shows dairy workers viciously punching, kicking, beating, and stabbing cows, and violently slamming milking equipment into them as they walk through the filthy milking parlor.

February 1, 2015

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Seaboard Foods

At Seaboard Foods—a Walmart pork supplier—workers viciously beat and strike pigs on their faces and backs with heavy cans and boards. Other pigs are shown suffering from injuries and illness, packed into filthy, overcrowded pens.

February 1, 2015

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Andrus Dairy

At this dairy supplier to Great Lakes Cheese—one of the largest cheese producers in the country—workers were caught on video viciously punching, kicking, and beating cows, hacking off their tails with pruning shears, and dragging them by their necks with ropes attached to tractors.

February 1, 2014

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Horizon Hatchery

At this Maple Leaf Foods chicken hatchery, baby chicks are flung by their fragile wings and slammed into metal dividers, live chicks are sent through a scalding washing machine, burned, and drowned, and birds are overloaded and roughly crammed into macerators to be ground up alive.

February 1, 2014

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Koch Foods

Sam Simon, the terminally ill co-creator of The Simpsons, took a bite out of Chick-fil-A over its cruel treatment of chickens in this shocking exposé. Video shows workers violently slamming birds into crates, shackling them upside down, and scalding them alive in hot water tanks.

February 1, 2014

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Délimax Veal

After hidden-camera footage recorded by a Mercy For Animals whistleblower exposed this Délimax-affiliated veal factory farm in Canada’s largest veal-producing province, Quebec’s veal producers federation and Canada’s top grocery chains, including Metro, Loblaws, and Sobeys, committed to ending the sale of veal from crated calves by 2018.

February 1, 2014

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Markets of Misery

Charges of a total of 49 counts of criminal animal cruelty were filed against 10 workers at two livestock auctions in Mississippi after an MFA investigator documented sheep, goats, pigs, and other animals being kicked, shocked, beaten, dragged by their ears and tails, and deprived of food and water.

February 1, 2014

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Hybrid Turkeys

Video footage at the world’s largest primary turkey breeder shows workers kicking and throwing turkeys, crushing their spines, and violently beating them with shovels and metal rods. Turkeys with open, pus-filled wounds, rotting eyes, and festering infections were left to suffer and die.

February 1, 2014

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Reichardt Duck Farm

At Reichardt Duck Farm, one of the largest duck factory farms in the country, workers burn the bills of baby birds with searing metal and leave ducks painfully trapped in cage wire or manure pits to slowly suffer and die from lack of food and water.

February 1, 2014

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Butterball

Hidden-camera video at this Butterball turkey hatchery shows birds having their sensitive toes and beaks cut and burned off without any painkillers, workers callously throwing and dropping these fragile animals, and sick or injured birds being thrown into a pit to be ground up alive.

February 1, 2014

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Chilliwack Cattle Sales

This exposé at the largest dairy in Canada led to a raid by law enforcement and recommendations of criminal charges against eight workers for kicking, punching, and beating cows in the face and body and using chains and tractors to lift sick or injured animals by their necks.

February 1, 2014

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Winchester Dairy

Once again, a Mercy For Animals investigator uncovered criminal cruelty to animals—this time at a milk supplier to Leprino Foods, the world’s largest maker of mozzarella cheese. Leprino is a major cheese supplier to Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa John’s.

February 1, 2014

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Western Hog Exchange

Canada’s livestock transport regulations are the worst in the Western world, and lag far behind both the European Union and the United States. Farmed animals are often trucked thousands of miles, for days, without any food, water, or rest, resulting in the deaths of millions of animals each year.

February 1, 2014

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Seaboard Foods

Award-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix narrates this disturbing hidden-camera video at a pork supplier to Walmart. The Twittersphere exploded with celebrity tweets by Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Moby, and others calling on Walmart to stop the torture of mother pigs.

February 1, 2014

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Tyson Pork Group

Hidden-camera footage shows sadistic animal abuse at this Walmart pork supplier, including workers throwing a bowling ball at a pig’s head, kicking, throwing, hitting, and body slamming baby pigs, and cramming pregnant pigs for life in gestation crates so small the animals can’t even turn around.

February 1, 2013

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Hudson Valley Foie Gras

Foie gras, “fatty liver,” is produced by shoving pipes down the throats of ducks and force-feeding them until their livers swell up to 10 times the normal size. This investigation exposes this violent and often fatal practice at an Amazon.com foie gras supplier.

February 1, 2013

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Wiese Brothers Farms

This stomach-turning investigation led Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, to commit to improving farmed animal welfare across its entire global supply chain—covering more than 90 countries—in what may be the most comprehensive and far-reaching animal welfare policy of its kind.

February 1, 2013

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Pipestone System

At this Walmart pork supplier owned by the president of the National Pork Producers Council, workers were exposed violently slamming conscious piglets headfirst against the ground, ripping out their testicles without painkillers, and confining pregnant pigs in filthy, fly-infested gestation crates.

February 1, 2013

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Creekside Farms and Kuku Farms

Undercover video taken at farms supplying McDonald’s Canada’s exclusive egg provider reveals hens crammed inside tiny wire battery cages, workers smashing in the heads of baby birds and tossing live chicks into trash bags to suffocate, and dead hens left to rot in cages with live birds.

February 1, 2013

Canada Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Puratone

The extreme animal abuse documented inside this Canadian hog factory farm sparked far-reaching media coverage and opened the eyes of millions of people to the plights of thousands of pigs who are crammed into filthy, metal gestation crates barely larger than their own bodies.

February 1, 2012

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Bettencourt Dairies

Video taken at this Burger King cheese supplier led to the arrest of the manager and workers who were caught viciously beating and shocking cows, violently twisting their tails to inflict pain, and dragging a downed cow by her neck using a chain attached to a tractor.

February 1, 2012

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Butterball

Less than a year after MFA’s first Butterball investigation led to criminal animal cruelty convictions of Butterball workers for kicking, beating, and throwing animals, new video footage from multiple turkey factory farms in North Carolina shows that animal abuse continues to run rampant at Butterball.

February 1, 2012

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Christensen Farms

This groundbreaking investigation led Costco, the third-largest grocery chain in America, and Kmart, the third-largest discount store in the world, to commit to phasing gestation crates out of their pork supply chains, leaving Walmart alone in its continued support of this torturous confinement system.

February 1, 2012

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Ontario Livestock Sales

After this investigation exposed an ongoing pattern of extreme cruelty and neglect at one of the oldest and largest livestock auctions in Southern California, including sick or injured animals left to suffer and slowly die, the owner and several workers were convicted of criminal cruelty to animals.

February 1, 2012

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Iowa Select

Working undercover at Iowa’s largest pig factory farm, an investigator exposed the horrific plights of mother pigs confined to barren metal crates barely larger than their own bodies. The investigation also showed workers throwing piglets across the room and comparing the act to a “roller coaster ride.”

February 1, 2011

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Illegal Slaughter Operation

This hidden-camera footage led to the arrest and conviction of Roberto Celedon for criminal acts related to his illegal slaughter operation in Los Angeles County. During a raid of the facility, animal control officers seized dozens of sick and injured animals who are now rehabilitated at a sanctuary.

February 1, 2011

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Butterball

Video footage of Butterball workers violently kicking and stomping on birds, dragging them by their wings and necks, and slamming them into transport crates resulted in the arrest and conviction of several Butterball workers, including the first-ever felony conviction in U.S. history for cruelty to factory-farmed birds.

February 1, 2011

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

E6 Cattle Co.

Hidden-camera video footage of workers standing on the necks of baby calves, burning out their horns without painkillers, and bludgeoning them to death with pickaxes caused the live-cattle stock price to drop, and led to the arrest and conviction of the facility owner.

February 1, 2011

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Sparboe Farms

This investigation exposed the secret ingredient in McDonald’s Egg McMuffins: horrific animal abuse. After garnering international media attention, including on Good Morning America and 20/20, Target and Sam’s Club terminated their contracts with Sparboe Farms.

February 1, 2011

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Conklin Dairy Farms

This investigation has been credited with pushing the Ohio Farm Bureau to implement the most comprehensive set of animal welfare reforms ever enacted by a single state at one time, including a ban on veal crates and gestation crates, and a moratorium on new battery-cage egg facilities.

February 1, 2010

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Buckeye Veal Farm

Following this investigation, Costco, the third-largest grocery chain in America, adopted a policy against purchasing veal from producers who use the crate-and-chain production method, and Bob Barker, host of The Price Is Right, urged consumers nationwide to boycott veal and dairy.

February 1, 2010

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Catfish Corner

Workers cutting, slicing, skinning, suffocating, and dismembering live and fully conscious catfish are just some of the sickening images caught on video at this Texas fish slaughter facility. MFA used this investigation to push for new legislation to prohibit “skinning and dismembering of all live, conscious animals,” including fish.

February 1, 2010

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Hy-Line Hatchery

At the world’s largest hatchery for egg-laying chickens, day-old baby birds are thrown, mutilated without painkillers, and violently killed. This investigation, which sparked international outcry, revealed the standard egg industry practice of throwing unwanted male chicks into a macerator to be ground up alive.

February 1, 2009

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Quality Egg of New England

This investigation prompted a raid by state police and led the owner of the facility to plead guilty to 10 counts of cruelty to animals, agree to pay more than $130,000 in fines and restitution, and hand over authority to the state of Maine to conduct unannounced inspections for five years.

February 1, 2009

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Country View

This investigation provides a jarring glimpse into the nightmarish world of pork production, including the standard practice of keeping thousands of pregnant pigs confined in gestation crates—two-foot-wide metal stalls so small the animals can’t turn around or lie down comfortably.

February 1, 2009

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Willet Dairy

Calves having their tails cut off and horns burned out of their skulls without painkillers, workers hitting, kicking, and shocking cows, and animals forced to live in filthy and overcrowded sheds—these were just some of the abuses uncovered at New York’s largest dairy factory farm.

February 1, 2009

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Gemperle Enterprises

Covert footage recorded at one of the nation’s largest egg producers uncovered hens left to suffer from untreated injuries and infections and workers roughly cramming birds into cages, tearing birds out of cages by their fragile wings, kicking, stomping, and throwing them, and hurling them into “kill carts.”

February 1, 2008

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Norco Ranch

Just weeks before California voted on Proposition 2 to give egg-laying hens enough room to walk, stand, and stretch their limbs, MFA released this startling footage from inside the state’s largest egg producer. Prop 2 passed with overwhelming support, making California the first state to ban battery cages.

February 1, 2008

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

House of Raeford Farms

An MFA investigator secretly filmed workers throwing, punching, kicking, and ripping the heads off of live birds. The investigation also revealed conscious and thrashing turkeys having their throats cut open—spotlighting the disturbing result of exempting birds from the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.

February 1, 2007

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Ohio Fresh Eggs

At Ohio’s largest egg factory farm, millions of hens are crammed for life into barren battery cages so small each bird has less floor space than the size of a sheet of notebook paper. From the time they hatch until they are violently killed, these hens endure lives of misery and deprivation.

February 1, 2004

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Weaver Brothers Egg Farm

Video footage recorded at this United Egg Producers “Animal Care Certified” facility reveals hens coated in feces and packed in tiny cages, birds suffering from untreated infections, corpses left to rot on cage floors, birds trapped in cage wire, and a live hen left to die in a trash bin.

February 1, 2002

Drone Investigations

Mercy For Animals’ drone investigations provide a whole new perspective on factory farming’s catastrophic impacts on animals, the environment, and rural communities. Equipped with high-tech video cameras, our drones fly above factory farms and slaughterhouses, capturing the nightmarish scale of these facilities.

Our Work

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Drone Footage Captures One of the Strangest Things Ever Seen at a Factory Farm

Breaking drone footage from Mercy For Animals reveals what could be one of the strangest things ever seen at a factory farm—a device capturing methane from a covered pond of cow feces for use as biogas.

August 28, 2024

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Our Drone Reveals the Aftermath of a Bird Flu Outbreak

Mercy For Animals just released disturbing drone footage revealing hundreds of thousands of birds killed because of bird flu. The footage offers a never-before-seen glimpse into the animal agriculture industry’s devastating response to the disease.

June 18, 2024

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Breaking Drone Investigation Reveals Wisconsin Cheese’s Dirty Secret

This drone found Wisconsin cheese’s dirty secret. Our drones just revealed massive open-air pits of liquified cow feces near residential neighborhoods. Not only is this disgusting, but the waste poisons local waterways and has alarming health consequences for surrounding communities.

October 18, 2023

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

What’s hiding under the surface… of fish farms?

“We shouldn’t say ‘stress’. We can say ‘outright suffering.’” In this mini doc, experts reveal what’s really hiding under the surface of fish farms.

March 30, 2023

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Spy on Factory Farms… from Home!

Why not spy on factory farms yourself? …from home!

November 4, 2022

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

How Low Can Drones Go?

We took our drones lower than they’d ever gone before—low enough to look inside the windows of factory farms!

October 19, 2022

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Drone Pilot: Where Does Sausage Really Come From?

This year, billionaire investor Carl Icahn called out McDonald’s for failing to meet its own stated goal to phase out cruel gestation crates by 2022. We released this video ahead of McDonald’s annual shareholders meeting, calling on McDonalds to do better for pigs.

May 25, 2022

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Drone Pilot Shares His Story: Meat Industry Is WORSE Than You Think

Drone pilot Mark Devries shares three of the most shocking things he’s witnessed while documenting the meat industry.

March 11, 2022

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

DRONE vs Animal Abuse

DRONES uncover secret animal abuse… at a pig factory farm in South America.

February 3, 2022

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

DRONE reveals LIVE animals being auctioned off like OBJECTS

Drone visits a livestock auction…

February 3, 2022

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Top 5 Weirdest DRONE Discoveries

Our DRONE investigator has spent the past several years traveling the globe documenting factory farms from the air. Here are the top five WEIRDEST things he found.

January 13, 2022

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

One State’s “Mega-Dairy” Catastrophe

This U.S. state is being RAVAGED by “mega dairy” farms. We sent our DRONES to investigate… Stand in solidarity with these communities, and suffering animals, by choosing plant-based foods.

November 4, 2021

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

DRONES Reveal Bizarre “Egg City”

This is not a normal city. Watch a DRONE fly over the unbelievable “Egg City” of South America.

March 30, 2021

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Drones Reveal the Unthinkable When Outbreaks Close Slaughterhouses

What happens when outbreaks close slaughterhouses? Our DRONES reveal the unthinkable…

August 26, 2020

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Drones Expose California Milk

Our drone reveals the shocking truth behind California milk practices.

December 12, 2019

Brazil Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Drones Expose Amazon Destruction

Our drones flew above the Amazon rainforest to expose the REAL reason for its destruction.

September 19, 2019

México Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Drones Expose Factory Farms in Mexico

July 19, 2019

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Drone Footage: Cow Attempts to Escape Slaughterhouse

This brave cow attempted to escape the slaughterhouse. Our DRONE caught it all on camera.

July 10, 2019

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

These Drones Expose Factory Farming Like Never Before

Factory farms are trying to stop us from revealing this. But they cannot stop our DRONES.

August 30, 2018

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Zoom-Camera Drone Reveals Disturbing Milk Production Secrets

The secrets of modern milk production are terrifying. This zoom-camera drone exposed the truth.

August 20, 2018

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Drones Reveal “Calf Hutches”

These crates were hiding something terrible. Our drones reveal it to the world.

April 5, 2018

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

First-Ever Drone Investigation of Slaughterhouses

December 6, 2017

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Ultimate Compilation: Drones Expose Factory Farming Across America

The food industry is hiding something. But it’s no match for our drones.

August 31, 2017

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

The Disturbing Truth of Where Eggs Come From

They want you to think eggs come from farms. But our drones revealed the disturbing truth.

August 9, 2017

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

The Pig Industry Treats Pigs Like Garbage

The pig industry doesn’t want you to see this.

May 26, 2017

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

The Milk Industry Can’t Hide from Our Drones

The milk industry has a big secret. But they can’t hide it from our drones.

March 14, 2017

United States Alleviate suffering Drive down demand Shift narratives Investigations

Drones Expose Massive Beef Feedlots from the Air

Cattle spend the first part of their lives on a range, where they are most commonly seen. Then they are transferred to giant industrial feedlots like this one.

December 16, 2016

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