Somerby Top farm, located in Lincolnshire, is a 4,000-pig fattening farm. It is owned by Cranswick and the body parts of the pigs who are imprisoned there will be distributed across major supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. Over 10 months, we filmed systemic abuse and suffering such as pigs being beaten by workers during transportation, and others being eaten alive after their severe health issues were left to fester.

It is incredibly harrowing to watch the scenes that we caught on camera, but our determined undercover investigators witness them firsthand. I interviewed one of our investigation team to shine a light on the secretive world of exposing the realities of animal agriculture.

First and foremost, can you summarise why you chose to become an undercover investigator?

I chose to become an undercover investigator after stepping inside a British pig farm for the first time. I could never have imagined myself doing this job; I was a person that would physically recoil if I saw anything upsetting relating to animals. But being inside that farm and witnessing the hidden atrocities that were taking place, I felt I had to expose what millions of animals are being forced to endure day in and day out. All under the ‘high welfare’ myth that we have been misled into believing. My motivation was not only for the animals suffering, but also for the public, who are being intentionally deceived.  

How important is it that we document farm conditions like at Somerby Top?

It's vital to document what is happening inside these places, otherwise it remains hidden and the cruelty continues. We need to show the reality to demand change. We need to expose the lies behind what we are being shown — intentionally clever marketing and hiding of the truth. It's taking away people's choice, encouraging them to support cruelty when the majority of people are against it. People have the right to know so they can make informed decisions.

We often get told that we should have intervened when animals are suffering — how would you respond to that?

I think that’s a natural response and one I remember saying myself prior to doing this work. Most of us want to be able to help someone we see suffering; an instinct kicks in to assist those in pain when they are directly in front of us. No matter what species an animal is, each individual's life matters to them. The issue with undercover work is that you aren’t in a position where you are able to intervene and help. Every farm I've ever been to, there's been countless individuals suffering. You're entering places without permission, in the middle of the night and often in remote areas. Those responsible for these animals have been failing them and would not want it revealed. Often we're installing hidden cameras, so it would only be after, when reviewing the footage, that we would see the extent of the suffering. I try to remind myself that I am purely there to document what is taking place. I cannot help these animals I am seeing, but I have to hope that the telling of their stories can create change and prevent the suffering of future individuals.

Whilst investigating Somerby Top, is there anything that has particularly stuck with you? Any individual pig or situation that stood out?

Multiple individuals remain with me from Somerby Top. Sometimes it's the unexpected things that stay with you. Like seeing injured piglets dreaming, their legs running, and thinking the only time they get to experience freedom is in their sleep. Then watching one wake to their nightmare existence. Their eyes connect with mine, empty and vacant, like they've given up.  This has got to be the hardest part of the job. But this is also what motivates me to keep on exposing the truth, for these individuals who I wasn't able to help.

What would you tell members of the public if you could speak directly to them?

Time and time again we show the reality of what these animals are being subjected to. This isn't a life anyone would want. And this isn’t one bad worker, one bad farm, one bad slaughterhouse. This is an inherently cruel system that is banking on us continuing to believe their lies. It doesn’t have to be this way, we have more power than we realise and we can demand change.

The life of an undercover investigator can be gruelling, but their work is critical to our dream of animal liberation. It is an absolutely necessary tool to make this dream a reality and to create a world where everyone is free to be themselves.

As always,

For the animals.