Evergreen Farm, Swaffham, Norfolk

(Filmed August 2008)

 

  • In the farrowing crates, bored mothers are held virtually immobile while their dead offspring litter the floor around them.
  • Newborn piglets investigate the body of a dead sibling.
  • One young dead piglet lies splayed in a corner.
  • Two young piglets are photographed beneath the crate itself. They may have fallen and now sit huddled below it, with placenta hanging down around them. Above, on the slatted floor, lie three dead siblings.
  • In one pen, four dead babies are heaped next to their mother’s foot.
  • Wheelie bins contain the bodies of still more dead.
  • Between births, the sows are afforded a little respite from the farrowing crates. They live in small groups in small pens. There is a frugal supply of straw for these animals but not enough to provide genuine comfort or meaningful enrichment.

Watch the footage taken on Evergreen Farm:

This film shows the conditions found on:

  • Greenway Farm: from 00.31 to 02.55
  • Evergreen Farm: from 02.56 to 04.27
  • Manor Farm: from 04.28 to 07.49
  • Melrose Farm: from 07.50 to 09.54

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