For nearly 20 years, we've filmed inside slaughterhouses and shown that 'humane slaughter' is a sham. Our footage bears witness to each animal's final moments, encouraging people to go vegan and successfully lobbying for mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses across the UK.
In 2019, we investigated our first slaughterhouse in Wales. Our covert cameras captured workers pinning down and cutting the throat of a fully conscious sheep, sheep being picked up by their fleeces and hurled onto conveyors, often with an audible crash, and an extremely fast-paced slaughterline.
In 2018, we placed hidden cameras inside PJ Hayman & Sons slaughterhouse in Devon for two days. The footage showed several animals being beaten and mistreated on their way to slaughter. The equipment and layout was woefully outdated, creating additional stress for the animals.
Also in 2017, we investigated Cheshire Halal in Greater Manchester. We filmed sheep being handled roughly, with one being thrown over a gate and another falling to the ground after being roughly pushed. She was left struggling on the floor while the worker turned his attention to other animals.
In 2017, we filmed inside Malik Food Group near Burnley. We found sheep having their throats hacked at and animals being thrown. This prompted an urgent government investigation and a slaughterman’s licence was withdrawn.
In 2017 we filmed at Forge Farms Meats in Kent. We found serious cause for concern over the way animals were treated, including some animals likely being conscious when going to the knife, having been improperly stunned.
In 2016, we filmed in an eleventh slaughterhouse, this one near Sheffield. The film shows a severely distressed water buffalo fighting for his life, by desperately attempting to jump out of a restraint box after witnessing other animals being slaughtered. A slaughtermen appears to be laughing as an animal is twitching on the floor, having just been stunned.
In 2014, we visited Bowood Lamb in 2014. This was the first non-stun slaughterhouse we filmed. We found sheep being smashed headfirst into pallets, a worker bouncing up and down on the neck of a sheep, and slaughterers hacking away at their throats with a blunt knife.
The ninth slaughterhouse we filmed was Cheale Meats in Essex, where the deliberate cruelty inflicted on animals was so shocking, it made the national media. Pigs were burnt with cigarettes, beaten, improperly stunned. Some pigs were so injured they had to drag themselves to slaughter.
The eighth slaughterhouse we visited was F Drury and Son in Wiltshire. We filmed sheep being decapitated whilst still alive, calves slipping and collapsing repeatedly to the floor for three hours, and goats leaping into the killing area to try to evade the stunning tongs.
The next slaughterhouse, JH Lamberts in Norfolk, was filmed in March and April 2010. The footage revealed sheep being dragged by their heads, forcibly thrown into the stun room and picked up by their fleeces and ears. Pigs and sheep suffered improper stunning.
In 2010, we filmed inside A&G Barber in Essex. The film shows scenes of extreme and deliberate abuse, including the use of electric tongs on pigs’ snouts, tails and in their open mouths. A&G Barber has since been forced to close.
In 2010, we filmed at another slaughterhouse accredited by the Soil Association, this time in Dorset. Our footage revealed more abuses and legal breaches. Once again, the MHS was forced to take action.
The fourth slaughterhouse we visited was accredited by the Soil Association. Conditions there were so bad that the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) immediately suspended three workers and began building a case for a prosecution.
In 2009, we filmed inside three randomly chosen slaughterhouses in Cornwall, Somerset and Derbyshire. Pigs and sheep are seen being kicked, shoved and even dragged into the stun room, which was packed with frightened animals.
You can find our statement on non-stun slaughter methods here.
If you have witnessed animal cruelty or suspect that there is illegal activity happening in a specific location please use our contact form to get in touch. All information will be treated with strict confidence.
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Veganism is all about embracing your compassion for animals and putting this compassion into practice by adopting a cruelty-free lifestyle.
