PIGS : MEAT

Grand sage Nombre de messages : 1483 Date d'inscription : 24/09/2011

July 19 , 2012

For two months "John" (not his real name) worked undercover inside a pig factory farm that supplies Walmart and other big box companies with pork products. By the time John left the factory farm, he had video footage of pregnant pigs living in cramped metal cages called gestation crates. He says the animals "constantly ram their heads against their tiny stalls or spend day after day, hour after hour, biting the bars of their cages out of frustration." And he knows it's not just this farm -- gestation crates produce the same conditions wherever they're used. John says he has to stay anonymous to protect himself from backlash by the industry he just exposed. So he's teamed up with a group called Mercy for Animals to start a petition pressuring Walmart to stop using gestation crates.

John just released his video yesterday, and other stores that use gestation crates, like Kmart and Costco, pledged to stop using this cruel method of raising pigs before it even got out to the public. They joined McDonald's, Burger King, Oscar Meyer, and Kroger who have all agreed to phase gestation crates out of their supply chains. But Walmart still refuses to drop the crates. Mercy For Animals thinks that massive public outcry against gestation crates will convince Walmart to adopt a stance against gestation crates. While John says his experience will haunt him for the rest of his life, he's committed to exposing the horrific conditions on farms where they intensively confine animals.
Click here to sign the petition demanding that Walmart -- the top food retailer in the US -- stop supporting gestation crates

Grand sage Nombre de messages : 1483 Date d'inscription : 24/09/2011

VIDEO

http://www.walmartcruelty.com/

Grand sage Nombre de messages : 1483 Date d'inscription : 24/09/2011

July 19 , 2012

End the use of cruel gestation crates in your pork supply chain

Dear Walmart:

I was shocked and horrified by the animal abuse recently documented on hidden camera by Mercy For Animals at one of your pork suppliers. I expected better from your company. The video shows pregnant pigs locked in narrow gestation crates so small they are unable to even turn around, walk, lie down comfortably, or engage in most other natural behaviors. The treatment of pigs at your supplier is absolutely unacceptable. Common sense tells us that animals with legs should be able to walk, run, and exercise.

Your company has the power and the ethical responsibility to require your pork suppliers to phase out these inherently cruel gestation crates. Many of the country’s largest grocery retailers and fast-food restaurants, including Costco, Safeway, Kroger, Kmart, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s, have already done so. Further, nine US states have banned pig gestation crates. What are you waiting for? It is time that your company takes a stand against animal abuse by ending the sale of pork from suppliers who confine pregnant pigs in these outdated and barbaric crates. Until your company decides to do the right thing, I will be taking my business elsewhere

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

April 12, 2013

VIDEO

http://www.mfablog.org/2013/04/breaking-news-workers-at-tyson-foods-pork-supplier-guilty-of-animal-cruelty.html

Breaking News: Workers at Tyson Foods Pork Supplier Guilty of Animal Cruelty

Five workers at Wyoming Premium Farms have been found guilty of criminal cruelty to animals following an undercover investigation by The Humane Society of the United States. The workers were caught on hidden camera violently kicking live piglets like soccer balls, swinging sick piglets in circles by their hind legs, and striking mother pigs with their fists, among other horrific abuses. At the time of the investigation, this factory farm was supplying pigs to Tyson Foods, one of Walmart's main pork suppliers. In addition to suffering the sadistic acts of cruelty that led to these criminal convictions, pregnant pigs at this facility were forced to spend nearly their entire lives crammed in filthy, metal gestation crates barely larger than their own bodies. Mercy For Animals investigations at multiple Walmart pork suppliers have uncovered similar abuses. Visit WalmartCruelty.com to learn more and take action!

Watch the hidden-camera video that led to the convictions here:

Confining pigs in gestation crates so small they can't even turn around is so patently cruel the practice has been banned in nine US states, and nearly 50 major food providers, including McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Costco, Safeway, Kroger, Oscar Mayer, Jimmy Dean, and Bon Appetit, have committed to ending the use of these cruel crates in their pork supply chains. Yet, rather than improve conditions for pigs and other farmed animals, pro-factory farm legislators in Wyoming and some other states are trying to outlaw investigations that uncover cruelty to animals and other criminal activities at factory farms and slaughterhouses. These legislators don't want to stop animal abuse; they just want to stop consumers from finding out about it. In January, the Wyoming House of Representatives introduced House Bill 126. If passed, this bill would make it a crime to "knowingly or intentionally" record images at a factory farm without the owner's consent, effectively outlawing the type of undercover work that led to the criminal convictions of these five workers at Wyoming Premium Farms. Factory farms clearly have a lot to hide if they are willing to go to these despicable measures to conceal their cruel practices from public view. But concerned consumers can safeguard their own health and help prevent needless cruelty and violence to animals by choosing vegetarian alternatives to meat, milk, and eggs. Visit ChooseVeg.com for helpful tips and recipes!

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

five in 'pig cruelty' case found guilty

April 11, 2013

WHEATLAND - Five employees from Wyoming Premium Farms have each been convicted on multiple counts of cruelty to animals after a Humane Society of the United States undercover investigation documented acts of animal abuse. The five convicted workers are: Patrick Ruckavina, Richard Pritekel, Edward Pritekel, Kali Oseland and David Bienz. A total of nine employees were charged in late December. All were terminated from their jobs at the farm by the time charges were filed. In addition to the five convictions, according to a deputy clerk at Platte County Circuit Court, three cases - against Kyla Adams, Jarrod Juarez and Steve Perry - are still pending. Shawn Colson, the former assistant manager of the farm who faced seven counts of animal cruelty, is currently considering a deal offered by the court.

The abuse, which was captured on video and became a sensation on YouTube last May, led to food giant Tyson Foods severing its relationship with the farm. The investigation documented Wyoming Premium workers kicking live piglets like soccer balls, swinging sick piglets in circles by their hind legs, striking mother pigs with their fists and repeatedly and forcefully kicking them as they resisted leaving their young, among other abuses.

"All animals deserve humane treatment, including animals raised for food," said Jonathan Lovvorn, senior vice president of animal protection litigation at The Humane Society of the United States. "We are grateful to law enforcement officials for pursuing charges in this case, and we hope that these convictions will deter further abuse of animals on industrial factory farms." In addition to the individual acts of abuse which led to criminal charges, The HSUS' investigation also found breeding pigs confined day-and-night in gestation crates, tiny cages that virtually immobilize animals. Gestation crates have come under fire by McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Costco, Safeway, Kroger, Oscar Mayer, Jimmy Dean, Sysco and other nearly 50 other leading food companies, as well as from veterinarians, farmers, animal welfare advocates, scientists, consumers and others.

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

Domino’s animal cruelty
29 de junio de 2012 a la(s) 20:58
may 13 , 2012
I love pizza -- double pepperoni with cheese from Domino's used to be a guilty pleasure when a craving struck. But since I found out Domino's buys meat from factory farms that abuse pigs before they become pepperoni, I haven’t been able to touch a slice.
On these farms, pregnant pigs spend their lives trapped in stalls barely bigger than their bodies, called "gestation crates." They can’t even turn around. Soon after they give birth, they’re re-impregnated. And once their bodies can’t physically endure the constant pregnancies and confinement any longer, they’re killed.
While other major brands like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King have all promised to phase out these cruel practices, Domino’s is continuing to profit from this horrific suffering. So I started a petition on Change.org asking Domino’s to stop buying meat from factory farms that use gestation crates. Will you join me?
I hadn’t realized what tortured lives these animals lead -- until the Humane Society of the United States released an undercover video of abuse at factory farm just a few days ago. The pigs are treated like nothing more than production units, and video footage of piglets being physically abused actually made me feel ill. I couldn’t even get to the end.
Domino’s can take an incredibly simple step to help eliminate this sort of cruelty. It’s the second largest pizza chain in the world, and eliminating gestation crates will set an incredibly powerful example. Even better, as a huge company buying literally tons of food, if Domino’s changes its practices to stop buying meat from abused animals, others will be forced to follow.
Public pressure has already convinced major brands like McDonald’s and Wendy’s to do the right thing, and I know that if Domino’s hears from thousands of its own consumers, it will have to follow their lead.
Click here to sign my petition asking Domino’s to stop buying meat from farms that use cruel gestation crates.

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

Living in misery, dying in agony – help pigs on factory farms
29 de junio de 2012 a la(s) 20:34
JUNE 2 , 2012
Confined to bleak metal pens in grim windowless sheds that stink of faeces and ammonia, hundreds of thousands of pigs on factory farms are forced to endure utter misery throughout their short lives. The nightmare begins when tiny pink piglets are born in farrowing crates so narrow that their mothers are unable to nuzzle them, lie down comfortably or even turn around. It ends on the day they are suspended from their hind legs – sometimes whilst still fully conscious – and their throats are slit open.
Undercover video footage taken on factory farms has shown these sensitive animals writhing in agony, while other pigs, half-stunned by electric tongs, twitch and scream on the filthy floor beneath them.
Please help us end this kind of heartbreaking cruelty. Make a generous donation to PETA today to save pigs and other animals.
Pigs are exceptionally intelligent. Their cognitive abilities are more sophisticated than dogs and have been documented to exceed those of a 3-year-old child. They use more than 20 different types of grunts and squeals to communicate everything from courtship to hunger. They are sociable and playful, too, forming close bonds with each other. They love to forage for seeds, nuts and roots and enjoy basking in the sun and cooling off in a mud bath.

On factory farms, pigs are denied these and other natural behaviours. Crammed together in the dark, their desperate squeals echo off the concrete walls. The stress, abuse and lack of stimulation have been shown to drive some to insanity.

In nature, mother pigs "sing" to their young while nursing. On factory farms, sows are treated like machines as they are forced to churn out litter after litter of piglets in barren stalls. Small or sickly piglets are routinely killed by "thumping" – their tiny bodies hurled violently, and sometime repeatedly, against concrete floors.
Those who survive are bred to grow unnaturally fast, often causing them injury, sickness and constant pain. Disease is rife – and video footage of factory farms has revealed pigs suffering from ailments such as prolapses, infected sores and painful limps, their bodies shaking in pain.
PETA is determined to put a stop to this type of sickening cruelty – but we need your help.
Right now, we're mobilising opposition to plans by Midland Pig Producers (MMP) to build a new prison for pigs in Foston, Derbyshire. The farm would condemn tens of thousands of sensitive pigs to a lifetime of suffering and send a thousand every week to slaughter.
You can help by signing our petition to ask Derbyshire County Council to reject MPP's application and by making a secure donation online today. Your support will bring us closer to saving sensitive animals like these from a living hell.
Together, we can bring about change. Our letters, petitions and demonstrations are generating media coverage, making millions aware of not only the devastating impact farms like these have on the environment but also the cruelty that condemns countless animals to lives of pain and terror.

Your support today will help us fight the Foston pig farm proposal and defend pigs and other abused animals.

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

20 november 2013

Undercover Investigator: "I will never forget what I saw."

http://www.mercyforanimals.ca/pigcruelty/

https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E162888&id=5

I became an investigator with Mercy For Animals Canada because I could no longer bear the thought of animals suffering in silence in our nation’s factory farms. However, nothing could prepare me for what I saw when I spent 10 weeks undercover in a pig factory farm in Manitoba. The filth. The smell. The screams. It was unimaginable. I will never forget what I saw. Every single day, I captured heartbreaking images on hidden camera: pregnant pigs confined to filthy metal crates barely larger than their own bodies, piglets having their testicles cut out and tails cut off without any painkillers or being slammed against the concrete floor, and pigs with raw wounds and crippling deformities left to suffer without medical attention.

To the pork industry, these are all standard practices. I went undercover because I wanted to expose these practices for what they really are: unconscionable animal abuse.Spending ten weeks inside a factory farm inhaling the filthy air, hearing the screams of these animals, and witnessing such profound and routine animal suffering was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And yet, I would do it again. The public must see what happens to animals in factory farms when the doors are locked tight and the abusers don’t think they are being watched. Exposing the truth is our only hope at creating real, meaningful change for these animals, who deserve to live free from suffering.

But I can’t do it alone. My investigation wouldn’t have been possible without the support of compassionate Canadians like you. And future investigations depend on your support too. Your contribution to Mercy For Animals Canada will help give a voice to the 700 million farmed animals in Canada, who have suffered in silence—until now. From now through December 31st, every single dollar up to $50,000 will be matched by a kindhearted supporter. This means that your gift will go twice as far: $25 becomes $50, and $100 becomes $200. Please make a donation today. Please help me help these animals. They deserve better. Together, we can create a kinder and more just future for farmed animals in Canada.
MFA Canada Undercover Investigator

Through December 31st, your generous contribution will help twice as many animals. Please give now to take advantage of this amazing opportunity

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

july 23 2013

Stella's Story: Why an Investigator Risked Everything to Help Animals Trash x Mercy For Animals info@mercyforanimals.org via auth.ccsend.com Unsubscribe 7/23/13 to me Greetings! You just heard the story of Darryl, my brave Canadian colleague. Now I want to share my story with you. They didn’t bother to give her a name. Just a number: 2764. But to me, she was much more. I called her Stella, because she deserved at least that much—a name. I met Stella while working as a Mercy For Animals undercover investigator at Iowa Select Farms, the largest factory farm in Iowa and a pork supplier to some of the nation’s largest grocery chains. Her entire life was filled with misery. For years, she stood in her crate alone, never knowing the warmth of the sun or the feel of grass under her hooves. Never a moment of play with others. Never a tender touch. Year after year, Stella’s piglets were taken from her. She could only watch helplessly as they screamed in pain while they were castrated and their tails cut off without painkillers. The cold metal bars that held her captive were unrelenting. There was no relief to be found in the dirty crate too small for her to even turn around or lie down comfortably. Over time, the abuse took its toll, and Stella became very sick. She developed open sores on her sides. Her left ear became badly infected—swelling up to the size of a baseball. She received no veterinary care. She became depressed. She stopped eating. And eventually Stella died. To the pork industry, Stella will remain just a number. What happened to her was business as usual. But to anyone with a heart and a conscience, what Stella was subjected to was nothing less than blatant cruelty and abuse. Please watch MFA’s powerful new video that shares some of my stories and the stories of other investigators, and then consider making a generous donation to enable us to continue to help animals like Stella. We can’t let other animals suffer like Stella did. These factory farms must be held accountable. The abuse these animals endure must be exposed. And ended. That’s why I choose to do this difficult work. Without undercover investigations, there would be no effective watchdogs protecting animals from egregious cruelty in these facilities. I ask that you share our video and be a voice for the animals suffering in silence behind the locked doors of factory farms. And please show your support by making a donation on behalf of these pigs, cows, chickens, and other animals living in fear and desperation. Thanks to an anonymous MFA donor, your gift will be matched, dollar for dollar, now through July 31. So please, give as generously as you can to help us bring hope to the nine billion animals like Stella who are languishing inside the dank, dismal confines of gestation crates, battery cages, and filthy stalls and pens. Having seen this cruelty firsthand, I know it is critical that we do everything we can to speak for them. Please, help us reach these animals by supporting MFA today. Being an investigator is the hardest work I’ve ever done, but I know it is the most effective action I can take to help animals like Stella. Because of my work with MFA, laws have been changed to protect animals, workers who beat, stab, and kick animals have been punished for criminal animal abuse, major corporations have improved their animal welfare policies, and countless people have ditched meat. These successes are making a real impact. They are bringing hope to animals nationwide. Your support makes the difference. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and for standing by our side as we continue our fight to bring kindness to all animals. With compassion, MFA Undercover Investigator