Second Cranswick pig farm hit by cruelty claim

Animal Justice Project secretly filmed for 10 months at Somerby Top Farm

A second pig farm has been hit by claims of animal cruelty following an investigation, prompting supermarket chains Asda and Tesco to suspend meat supplies.

Animal Justice Project (AJP) secretly filmed for 10 months at Somerby Top Farm in Lincolnshire, which is run by Hull-based food supplier Cranswick.

According to AJP, workers would routinely "hit pigs with boards, paddles and their fists, deliberately targeting areas such as their snout and eyes".

A spokesperson for Cranswick said: "The health and welfare of our pigs is our highest priority and we were horrified to see this unacceptable [historical] footage."

Cranswick said it was "horrified to see this unacceptable historic footage"

AJP said it had evidence that pigs were improperly killed at the farm and were loaded for transport when they were injured, which it said were both breaches of law on animal welfare.

The Mail on Sunday reported that some of the "most severe abuse" was inflicted on pigs two weeks after an audit by food assurance scheme Red Tractor.

Red Tractor said Somerby Top Farm had been referred to the government's animal welfare regulator, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, and its certification had been suspended with immediate effect following the "deeply distressing" footage.

In May, supermarkets suspended supplies from another Cranswick farm that was also claimed by AJP to have abused pigs.

Following allegations at the second farm, a Tesco spokesperson said: "We take animal welfare extremely seriously and expect all our suppliers to adhere to our high welfare standards.

"We were shocked by this footage and we have immediately suspended the farm in question.

"Our specialist agriculture team is working with the supplier to carry out a full investigation."

Asda said it had "immediately suspended supply" from the farm after the supermarket was made aware of the claims.

Animal Justice Project said it was "the worst cannibalism" it had "ever documented"

In a statement, Red Tractor said: "This footage is deeply distressing. Red Tractor is taking this clear breach of animal welfare standards extremely seriously.

"The farm will remain unassured if Red Tractor is not satisfied our standards are met.

"It's important to note that this footage was taken between May 2024 and January 2025, with evidence and allegations only being presented to Red Tractor in August 2025.

"This delay is concerning and suggests that these activists have prioritised ideology over protecting animal welfare."

'Distressing to watch'

Claire Palmer, director of AJP, said: "This is the worst cannibalism we have ever documented.

"Pigs were literally eaten alive, suffering ruptures, infections, and horrific injuries - the result of boredom, overcrowding, and despair.

"The public should be appalled and it's time for an independent, public inquiry into the UK pig industry."

A spokesperson for Cranswick said: "The health and welfare of our pigs is our highest priority and we were horrified to see this unacceptable [historical] footage, filmed at Somerby Top farm.

"As with the Northmoor Farm footage, released in May 2025, the content was recorded several months ago but has only very recently been shared with us.

"We find the treatment of the pigs in the footage distressing to watch and we apologise unreservedly for this lapse in our standards.

"It does not in any way reflect the operating practices at our farms today."

The footage was described as "deeply distressing" by animal welfare regulator Red Tractor

Cranswick said it had made changes following the allegations about Northmoor Farm near Market Rasen, where covert footage appeared to show workers at Northmoor Farm abusing piglets.

Workers were filmed holding piglets by their hind legs and slamming them to the ground, using a banned method of killing the animals known as "piglet thumping".

Other footage showed the botched killing of a sow that left the animal screaming and writhing in pain. A sow was also shown being beaten with metal bars.

The firm said: "Since May, we have been implementing major changes across all of our farming businesses to address the challenges raised within the footage.

"We have changed the management team at these farms and staff shown in the footage no longer work for the business. We have recruited five new, full-time welfare officers.

"All of our farm colleagues have been retrained in livestock handling, with a strong focus on animal health and welfare.

"We are currently installing AI-enabled CCTV at all of our indoor farms to enable us to monitor the health of our pigs and the behaviour of our colleagues, in real time, to ensure our exacting standards are consistently met."

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