Undercover agents from Animal Justice Project filmed staff at Pinchbeck abattoir owned by Morrisons
A Pinchbeck abattoir has been accused by an animal rights group of using excessive force when handling pigs.
Staff at Woodhead Brothers, which is owned by supermarket Morrisons, were secretly filmed by undercover agents from the Animal Justice Project late last year – and a story based on the footage’s findings appeared in The Times yesterday.
The animal rights organisation says the footage shows staff at the Brunel Road using electric prods on cattle, paddles on pigs and lame animals collapsing. It also states that this happened in front of CCTV cameras which should be used to monitor activities.
Animal Justice Project states that these findings will be sent to authorities, Red Tractor, RSCPA and Morrisons in a bid to force change.
A statement from the organisation said: “Morrisons has more than 80 CCTV cameras across its three abattoirs and claims to have been the first supermarket to install CCTV inside its abattoirs to ‘reassure the public of good welfare practice at slaughter’. The supermarket - one of the largest producers of pork - claims that every animal in their chain ‘is treated with care and respect, and is content’. All of the above instances of poor practice occurred in front of several CCTV cameras which covered the entire lairage, as seen on the agent’s footage.”
The organisation states that abbatoir workers were heard swearing at pigs along the route to the gas chamber.
The statement adds: “Despite regulations underlining the need for calm and quiet moving of animals in slaughterhouses. The use of paddles was excessive, loud, angry, forceful, and in quick succession on the pigs’ backs and hindquarters, when the animals had nowhere to go. Paddles were used from all angles by the abattoir staff, and sometimes on the pigs’ faces. This misuse of paddles is prohibited according to Defra rules.”
The organisation has claimed that its agent had filmed cattle and pigs with health issues.
A spokesman for Morrisons said: “We care deeply about animal welfare, both in our own operations and throughout our supply chain, and we're confident that our training and monitoring systems are among the best in the industry.
“There is however very concerning footage of a pig that arrived at the abattoir with a clear injury to its front leg. We are looking carefully into how this happened. The video also shows more forceful than necessary use of the rattle - which is totally unacceptable - and will be dealt with.
“We will also be stepping up the training of third party hauliers and our own colleagues, ensuring the safe movement of animals on our sites."
