Pigs Stabbed with Swords While Workers Laugh on Spanish Pig Farm
Update (September 27, 2016): The three men shown during an Animal Equality undercover investigation stabbing pigs with swords while laughing and posing for the camera have been sentenced. The men received a one-year prison sentence and have been banned from working with animals for three years. This is the highest penalty for the abuse of farmed animals in Spain’s history.
Animal Equality released a shocking video filmed at a pig farm in El Escobar, Spain, showing some of the most brutal violence our investigators have ever witnessed.
The pigs at this farm are bred for the company El Pozo, which sells its products to a Morrison’s. Morrison’s is a popular supermarket chain in the U.K.
What Our Footage Shows
Video footage shows workers:
- Stabbing pigs multiple times with blunt, meter-long swords
- Laughing and posing for the camera as the bleeding pigs scream
- Hitting pigs on their heads with iron bars, jumping on them, and kicking them
- Tying a pregnant pig up as she tries to escape, pulling the piglets from her body, and scattering her internal organs over the ground where she dies a few minutes later
In 2008, this pig farm received the prestigious ‘Porc d’Or Award’ from the factory farming industry. This is an award given to farms for excellence, progress, and high animal welfare standards.
“The pigs were clearly in severe pain, struggled to escape, and took some time to die….” shared Andrew Knight of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. “…[A]busive and callous behavior included menacing a pig that was unable to retreat by poking the sword almost into its eyeball, kicking recumbent pigs, and laughing at and apparently mocking dying pigs.”
Business as Usual on this Factory Farm
According to a farm worker’s testimony, these events happen frequently. Not only are farm managers aware of this behavior, but they actively encourage it. Some have been filmed taking part themselves.
In his exclusive interview with Animal Equality, the worker stated that he personally witnessed the stabbing of more than 50 pigs with swords. He added that this type of abuse occurred each week since he started at the farm in 2009.
Miguel Rodriguez Castaño of the Veterinary Hospital at the University of Madrid called it “the most horrible treatment of animals I’ve seen in my career.”
Expert Andrew Knight agreed: “The actions of these workers would violate the ethical standards and animal welfare legislation of any civilised nation, and would normally attract the most serious punishments allowable under the law.”
Despite the brutality found in El Escobar, investigators note that animal cruelty is not unique to this farm. Through hundreds of worldwide investigations, Animal Equality has found repeated abuse, neglect, and corruption.
YOU CAN PUT AN END TO ANIMAL ABUSE
By signing our petition to end factory farming in the U.S., you can prevent animals like these from suffering behind closed doors. Better yet, you can share it with your friends and family so they can lend their voice to the voiceless.
Or, if you’d like to take this commitment a step further, you can even become an animal defender at your own dining table!
Replacing meat, dairy, and eggs with vibrant and colorful plant proteins has never been easier. At Love Veg, you can discover just how satisfying helping animals can be. We’ve even provided free recipes, tips, and other resources so you’ll never run out of inspiration.
SAVE ANIMALS FROM ABUSE
Pigs, cows, and other animals feel pain and deserve to be protected from abuse.
You can protect these intelligent animals by simply choosing plant‑based alternatives.
Millions around the globe have already discovered the benefits of compassionate food choices. Will you join them by starting your own journey today?
- 1. Granja
- 2. El Escobar
