It is stripping away euphemisms such as ‘stunning’ or ‘high welfare’ and exposing the truth: pigs are forced into gas chambers until they suffocate to death.
We must Turn Off The Gas…for good.
The pig slaughter industry sanitises suffering. It speaks of ‘welfare’ and ‘efficiency’, whilst pigs continue to be forced into gas chambers. For more than twenty years, animal welfare experts, scientists and Government advisers have raised concerns about the use of CO₂ gas chambers for killing pigs.
In December 2025, the Government finally acknowledged those concerns and committed to consulting on ending CO₂ pig gassing, after the Animal Welfare Committee recommended phasing it out. Yet no clear timetable, contents or consultation have been launched. We are pressuring the government to not only debate the future of CO₂, but the gas chambers themselves. Current recommendations predict that CO₂ may simply be replaced by a non-aversive gas such as argon, but pigs will still suffocate to death.
90% of all pigs in the UK are killed in gas chambers – that’s over nine million animals every year. Undercover investigations across the UK and internationally have repeatedly exposed the same disturbing reality inside pig slaughterhouses: pigs forced into CO₂ gas chambers, where they gasp, thrash, and attempt to escape as they lose consciousness. Footage obtained by NGOs shows near-identical scenes across multiple countries – the UK, US, Australia and France – directly challenging claims that poor welfare is limited to isolated cases. Instead, the evidence points to a standard industry practice that causes widespread suffering.
Animal Justice Project’s position is clear. Transitioning to a different gas such as argon will not help pigs. Suffocation will never be ‘humane’ and no animal should be killed for the dinner table.
Pigs are intelligent, sensitive individuals with their own personalities, social bonds, and desire to live. Yet millions are still funnelled through a system that reduces them to units of production and profit.
After being unloaded from transport lorries, they are forced into a metal cage known as a gondola, which lowers them into a chamber filled with high concentrations of CO₂ gas. When inhaled, CO₂ reacts with moisture in the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs to form carbonic acid. This causes an intense burning sensation and severe respiratory distress. Pigs have been widely documented panicking, gasping for air, and thrashing violently as they struggle to escape.
It can take 30-60 seconds for pigs to lose consciousness, during which time they remain fully aware, unable to breathe and in distress. Once removed from the chamber, pigs are shackled upside down and their throats are cut to bleed out.
If they were dogs, we’d call it abuse. If they were cats, it’d be illegal. They panic and scream, yet big corporations get to label it ‘humane’.
Whether pigs are electrically stunned or gassed inside chambers, their lives are still ended prematurely after a short lifetime of suffering on British farms. We must shut down the gas chambers, and we must end the exploitation of pigs completely.
Shutting down gas chambers is the first step towards our goal of total animal freedom.
Despite 90% of British pigs being killed in gas chambers, the public has no idea. Animal Justice Project commissioned a YouGov survey in May 2026, revealing that most people in the UK (75%) say they know very little or nothing at all about how pigs are slaughtered.
The survey shows a significant public knowledge gap, yet the UK Government is consulting on the issue without asking the British public their opinion. Once people were made aware, they expressed an overwhelming view that gas chamber killing should end.
Animal Justice Project is calling on the UK Government to:
1/ Launch the promised consultation before the end of 2026.
2/ Ensure the consultation assesses whether gas chambers themselves should be phased out, not simply which gas should replace CO₂.
3/ Publish a clear timetable for the consultation, decision-making and implementation.
4/ Create a system for pig farmers to exit their crumbling industry and move to plant-based agriculture.
Alongside this political ask, we are calling on supermarket giant, Sainsbury’s, to:
1/ Publicly acknowledge the welfare concerns associated with gas chamber systems and commit to reviewing their continued use within Sainsbury's supply chain.
2/ Label all of their British ‘pork’ products with “100% of Sainsbury’s ‘pork’ comes from pigs gassed to death,” given their firm stance on calling gas systems "the most humane method of slaughter for pigs".
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