|
Animal rights group Mercy for Animals released a video publicly
on Tuesday that showed large number of pigs and piglets
constrained in small spaces, being treated cruelly and left to
suffer from injuries and illnesses without veterinary care.
The video, which is 2 minutes and 26 seconds long and is
available on YouTube and on Mercy for Animals' website, was part
of the group's undercover investigation at the Maschhoffs farm.
Hormel said it would send third-party auditors to investigate
the claims made in the video.
"We have issued a suspension of all the Maschhoffs, LLC Oklahoma
sow operations while a thorough investigation is completed",
Hormel said.
The Maschhoffs farm said in a statement that they had begun
their own investigation into the events depicted in the video,
and that they would re-train all employees in Oklahoma on proper
production procedures.
This is not the first instance that an animal activist group has
released a video showing animals being treated cruelly at a
Hormel supplier.
In 2015, Compassion Over Killing released a video showing
workers at a Quality Pork Processors Inc plant beating, dragging
and slitting the throats of live animals.
Hormel also said on Tuesday that its company-owned farm will be
gestation crate free in the next 30 days.
(This story corrects timing of release in second paragraph to
Tuesday from last week.)
(Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio
D'Souza)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
