Captured by the Animal Justice Project, the footage shows piglets at Mere Pigs farm in Lincolnshire being slammed against concrete just one day after Cranswick publicly announced it had prohibited the practice across all of its farms.
Cranswick made the announcement at its AGM on 28 July 2025 following the emergence of similar scenes at two other farms owned by the meat producer. However, Animal Justice Project says that part of the footage released was captured on 29 and 30 July, in addition to scenes filmed in March of this year.
According to the Independent, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have suspended supplies from the farm, while Cranswick has sacked four members of staff involved.
Meanwhile, Animal Justice Project has reported the findings to Trading Standards and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
Commenting on the latest example of animal cruelty at a Cranswick farm, the animal welfare charity’s campaigns director Ayrton Cooper said: “The tide is turning. Consumers are tired of being misled by farming companies hiding behind empty ‘high-welfare’ claims.
“It’s unacceptable that the chair of Cranswick, a company repeatedly linked to appalling animal suffering, is advising the UK Government on a new national food strategy. The public deserves a food system built on compassion, honesty and transparency - a food system that is entirely plant-based.”
In addition to piglets being killed by blunt force trauma, the recordings show almost 200 sows confined in farrowing crates and dead piglets laying among the living.
Animal Justice Project also found that staff spent an average of 3.9 seconds checking the health of each sow.
In response to the footage emerging, a Cranswick spokesperson said: “We are deeply disappointed and frustrated by the covert footage captured on one of our farms. The behaviour depicted is wholly unacceptable and clearly breaches the values, standards and animal welfare practices that we uphold across our business.
“Much of the material appears to pre-date the significant reforms we have been implementing – including the complete overhaul of our livestock handling policies and extensive, independently-led retraining for our employees.
“We are continuously working on improving our on-farm standards and culture, whilst investing in cutting edge surveillance technology. This programme is ongoing and subject to continuous review and improvement.
“Despite these efforts, it is clear that a small number of individuals have failed to follow our strict animal welfare protocols, even after retraining. This constitutes a serious breach of our standards.
“As a result, those individuals have been immediately dismissed and we will cooperate fully with the relevant authorities to support further investigations.”
