The film shows pigs in groups of five or six being mechanically herded into a cage and then lowered into a gas chamber in a ferris wheel-like system. The pigs try to escape, but cannot. They react with fear and distress as the gas concentration increases. The gasping can be seen in all pigs where the mouth is visible, with one still kicking after more than three minutes.
CLAIRE COLLEY: New undercover footage showing British pigs being gassed prior to slaughter has led to renewed calls to investigate the use of CO2. Campaigners say the pictures – the first of their kind to be obtained in a UK abattoir – show the “utterly inhumane” nature of using CO2 to stun pigs before being killed. But the pork industry says its use is recognised as the most welfare-friendly method available, and says alternatives are being sought.
The images published today were obtained, say campaigners, using hidden cameras at Pilgrim’s Pride abattoir in Ashton-under-Lyne in north-west England in February 2021. They show pigs in groups of five or six being mechanically herded into a cage and then lowered into a Butina gas chamber in a ferris wheel-like system. The pigs appear to be in distress as the gas concentration increases, with one still kicking after more than three minutes.
“The pigs in the video react to the first inhalation of carbon dioxide with fear and obvious discomfort,” said Donald Broom, an animal welfare professor at the University of Cambridge. “They try to escape but cannot. The gasping can be seen in all pigs where the mouth is visible. Gasping indicates poor welfare. The period of poor welfare continues until the pig loses consciousness”…
Animal activist Joey Carbstrong, who captured the footage for the film Pignorant, said that the continued use of CO2 arises from the favouring of corporate profit over the interests of the animals. “We urgently need to stop using animals as resources because this kind of horror show is the result”…
In 2003, a government advisory body, the Farm Animal Welfare Council, said that CO2 stunning/killing “is not acceptable and we wish to see it phased out in five years”. However, its use has instead increased to 88% of all pigs in 2022.
A new scientific opinion by the European Food Safety Authority published in June 2020 stated: “Exposure to CO2 at high concentrations is considered a serious welfare concern by the panel because it is highly aversive and causes pain, fear and respiratory distress”. SOURCE…
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