Cranswick plc is the largest British-owned pig company, imprisoning over 900,000 pigs on its farms. It supplies all major supermarkets with ‘pork’ products like bacon and sausages. Although it boasts “we’re not just meeting industry standards, but setting them”, our latest investigation unveils a world of secret abuse, hidden away behind concrete walls.
In May 2025, we exposed piglet ‘thumping’ at Northmoor Farm – another site owned by Cranswick – which prompted the company to launch an ‘Independent Review’. They fought back, stating that ‘thumping’ was banned across its farms; yet, just two months later, we filmed clear law-breaking and violent actions that juxtapose the carefully crafted public image Cranswick has been working hard to defend. As featured in the Independent, our footage from inside Mere Farm, Lincolnshire, reflects the absurdity that anything compassionate could ever happen inside an industry that profits from exploiting pigs.
Following our exposé at Northmoor Farm in May 2025, Cranswick shifted blame onto the workers, blaming their incompetence, but it is never just one isolated incident. Piglet ‘thumping’ is systemic within pig farming. At Mere Farm, tiny piglets were viciously slammed onto concrete floors to kill them. The babies were left writhing on the cold floors – one was still thrashing after nine long minutes, and another was still moving for as long as 20 minutes afterwards. We have caught Cranswick red-handed once again.
On July 28 2025, following Cranswick’s AGM, the company informed Animal Justice Project, “[We have] banned the use of so called “piglet thumping” on all of our farms.” Yet, just one day later on July 29, a piglet was killed by ‘thumping’ at Mere Farm. As we had previously shown at Cranswick’s farms, this wasn’t a one-off situation. A day later, another was killed. In total, we filmed nine piglets being illegally killed via this wicked act of violence.
It wasn’t just piglets who we captured being attacked at Mere Farm. A mother pig, who was trapped in a farrowing crate and had given birth the previous day, became the victim of a four-day-long assault by workers. She couldn’t stand up after delivering her piglets – babies who were quickly taken away from her.
Staff joked, “How the f*ck is she still alive?” after leaving her to suffer, unable to reach food or water. She was deprived of water for as long as 24 hours and food for over 54 hours. A torrent of abuse was unleashed upon her as workers beat her repeatedly over four long days: kicking her vulva, stamping on her stomach and stabbing her in the head with a metal spade. They left visible cuts and scrapes along her body. She couldn’t escape, trapped in the crate, and too exhausted to fight back.
She was finally dragged out of the cage by her back legs. A metal noose and a rope were used to pull her body, wrapped tightly around her legs. She thrashed around. A staff member forcibly pulled her head up using her ear and slammed her head back down onto the concrete floor. She lay there, unable to move, fading away. The worker joked, “You dying?” before laughing with his colleagues. He walked over her, standing on her stomach, and moments later she took her last breath and died.
Across the farm, pigs and piglets were left to suffer in agony, as obvious health issues were allowed to fester. One piglet had a ruptured eye, and another had large, swollen feet, making it difficult for them to walk. Sows – female pigs – had sores along their shoulders as their bodies rubbed against the farrowing crate bars.
Dead and dying animals were a common sight at this Cranswick farm. The bodies of ‘thumped’ piglets were sprawled in the walkways and inside birthing pens. Our findings mirror those of any pig farm we have ever investigated. These issues are not solely linked to Mere Farm; they are reflective of the entire pig industry.
We are calling on the UK government remove Tim Smith, Cranswick's Non-Executive Chairman, from two advisory boards. Add your name today.
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If you are vegan and want to help further, you can order our Imprisoned pig leaflets and Animal Farming factsheets, perfect for educating the public on high streets and posting through letterboxes!
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