WARNING: This story may contain content and images that some people find distressing. The supermarket supplier said that individuals allegedly involved had been ‘immediately dismissed’
Hull supermarket supplier Cranswick has reportedly sacked several members of staff after fresh allegations of animal cruelty have been made. It comes as undercover footage of farm workers allegedly slamming piglets against the floor at a North Lincolnshire farm has been released by animal rights activists.
Images appear to show staff at Mere Farm, near Barton-upon-Humber, picking up young pigs and throwing them on the concrete floor in a practice known as “thumping”. Hull pork producer Cranswick, which owns the farm, has called the behaviour “wholly unacceptable” and said it has sacked several members of staff.
Graphic images showing the alleged thumping are said to have been filmed in March and July this year, according to animal rights organisation Animal Justice Project. They said they have taken their findings to Lincolnshire Trading Standards and Animal & Plant Health Agency.
Major supermarket supplier Cranswick says it banned the practice of thumping — technically known as non-mechanical blunt force trauma — at its farms in May after similar footage appeared from another of its Lincolnshire facilities, Northmoor Farm. However, Animal Justice Project claim that some of the distressing scenes of workers allegedly picking up and throwing piglets to kill them come from the days immediately after Cranswick talked about the ban on thumping at its annual general meeting, on July 28.
The activists allege that some piglets were left writhing in agony, with one said to have been thrashing for nine minutes and another showing signs of life 20 minutes after the practice. They also claim the film shows a sow being abused by beating, kicking, and dragged with ropes and wire.
Animal Justice Project also claim the pig had been unable to get up after giving birth and allege it was not given water for over 24 hours and food for more than 54 hours. In response, Cranswick confirmed the appalling treatment happened at Mere but said they could not validate the timescales alleged.
Mere is the third Cranswick farm from which footage of alleged mistreatment has emerged, following Northmoor and Somerby Top, where cannibalism among pigs was filmed in 2024. The three farms in question were acquired by Cranswick in 2023 amid a major expansion of its pork production.
Following the Northmoor footage, Cranswick said it brought in a number of measures including retraining to all of its pig farm employees, a reminder of its whistleblowing service, the hiring of five new welfare officer positions, installation of new CCTV systems and an independent vet-led review into its pig farming business. Asda, Tesco and Morrisons all suspended supplies from the farm when the Mere footage came to light.
Cranswick also says a subsequent Trading Standards inspection of the farm, following Animal Justice Project’s submission, found no wrongdoing. However, the activist group is now calling on Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Angela Eagle, to remove Cranswick’s non-executive chairman, Tim Smith, from his positions on the Food Strategy Advisory Board — which he joined earlier this year — and as co-chair of the Food and Drink Sector Council.
A spokesperson for Cranswick said: “We are deeply disappointed and frustrated by the covert footage captured on one of our farms. The behaviour depicted is wholly unacceptable and clearly breaches the values, standards and animal welfare practices that we uphold across our business.
“Much of the material appears to pre-date the significant reforms we have been implementing — including the complete overhaul of our livestock handling policies and extensive, independently-led retraining for our employees. We are continuously working on improving our on-farm standards and culture, whilst investing in cutting edge surveillance technology. This programme is ongoing and subject to continuous review and improvement.
“Despite these efforts, it is clear that a small number of individuals have failed to follow our strict animal welfare protocols, even after retraining. This constitutes a serious breach of our standards. As a result, those individuals have been immediately dismissed and we will cooperate fully with the relevant authorities to support further investigations.”
A Tesco Spokesperson said: “We take animal welfare extremely seriously, and we expect all our suppliers to adhere to our high welfare standards. This footage is distressing, and we have suspended the farm with immediate effect, pending a thorough investigation with our supplier. Any failure to meet our high welfare standards is unacceptable and we take swift action where necessary.
“We continue to work with our suppliers to drive improvements in animal welfare through independently auditing all our own brand suppliers against our Tesco Welfare Assured standards, and working with farm assurance schemes to agree industry-wide improvements.”