VIDEO: Boars Kicked in Testicles at Red Tractor–Approved Farm

Disturbing evidence of extreme cruelty to animals has been exposed by Animal Justice Project during an undercover investigation into a farm in Norfolk that confines boars in barren concrete pens and sexually abuses them for their semen.

The investigation revealed the dark, desperate conditions in which pigs were kept, the neglect of animals with health conditions, and how workers routinely subjected pigs to physical and verbal abuse in this often-unseen aspect of the meat industry, in which semen is forcibly taken from male pigs for the artificial insemination of sows to produce animals for humans to eat.

Over 800 hours of covert footage exposed cruelty to the pigs held at Innovis Gene Transfer Centre East in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, which sells semen exclusively to Hermitage AI for distribution to pig farms across Britain, including farms that supply Red Tractor and RSPCA Assured brands, such as BQP and Cranswick, which provide pig flesh to major retailers. Here’s what they’ve found.

Pigs Restrained, Assaulted, and Abused

Staff restrained pigs by the stumps of their cut-off tails and manually masturbated them to collect semen, which they admitted sometimes caused the penis to bleed. Boars who resisted were physically assaulted and verbally abused. Workers hurled homophobic and sexual insults at the animals and joked about killing the pigs, even as they shoved one pig who had collapsed along the ground to be taken to slaughter.

Boars Hit With Pipes and Kicked in Testicles

Staff were filmed kicking boars in the testicles, hitting them in the face with sticks and pitchforks, and slamming gates into them. In a period of six hours, workers were documented hitting boars over 300 times, often using hard pipes and paddles.

Pens Covered in Urine and Faeces

Over 100 male pigs were confined for years to cramped concrete pens with just a little straw for enrichment, and the animals displayed signs of frustration, such as chewing on drinkers, pacing aimlessly, ripping up the floor to chew, and fighting. Pens were often filthy and unhygienic, and a build-up of urine and faeces created slippery and unsafe conditions for the animals.

Lame Pigs Forced to Go Through Semen Collection

Many of the animals were suffering from severe lameness, which appeared to be left untreated, with no veterinary care provided during the filming days. Some animals were visibly in pain, struggling to move, yet the facility continued to subject them to semen collection.

Industry Standards Prove Meaningless Once Again

The Innovis centre investigated is Red Tractor–approved, and the farms supplied with semen from this facility are also certified by Red Tractor or RSPCA Assured, showing once again how these meaningless industry certifications fail to protect animals while allowing brands to profit from marketing their products as “higher welfare”. In 2020, an investigation into a Red Tractor–certified farm in Northern Ireland exposed pigs with gaping wounds and bloodied faces as they were eating each other alive while others were left to die on the farm floor.

The latest investigation follows a report by Social Market Foundation, which found that assurance schemes have “demonstrably failed” to take sufficient action against breaches of animal welfare laws. The report highlighted that only 3% of welfare inspections were conducted by government authorities, and of those, about a third uncovered non-compliance, but less than 3% of them were prosecuted. The industry’s own schemes, like Red Tractor, conduct the vast majority of farm inspections in the UK, with visits only every 12 to 18 months. These rare inspections mean nothing to the animals and do little to protect them from the systematic cruelty inherent to the meat industry.

Meat Means Suffering

“High welfare” or not, at every stage, the meat industry causes immense suffering to animals. On the vast majority of farms that raise pigs for their flesh, mother pigs endure artificial insemination to forcibly impregnate them over and over again, and for a couple of weeks before and after they give birth, they’re confined to farrowing crates so small they can’t even turn around. Their babies are separated from them by bars in the crate and, after only a few weeks, taken away to fattening pens.

Farmers routinely cut off piglets’ tails and grind down their sensitive teeth, usually without painkillers. Males may be castrated without anaesthetic. They are imprisoned on factory farms where they’re denied the opportunity to engage in natural behaviour and may never see the sun or breathe fresh air before they are loaded onto a lorry destined for the abattoir, where they’ll be hoisted upside down by their back legs and their throats will be cut, often without effective stunning.

Stop Eating Pigs

Pigs are friendly, intelligent animals who in nature would live in small family groups, exploring their surroundings, playing, foraging for food, and building nests for their young.

Time and again, investigations show that cruelty to animals is the norm when they’re exploited for their flesh, no matter what the label says. The only way to spare pigs a life of suffering and a painful death in the meat industry is to not eat them. Please, take our vegan pledge to help pigs and other animals:

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