Devon farm blasted after piglets 'thumped against walls' and bin full of dead piglets found

A Devon pig farm has been slammed by animal rights campaigners who gathered photos and video footage of piglets being thrown against walls, a bin full of rotting piglet corpses and pigs who had become trapped in cages.

But the National Pig Association says it found Cross Farm near Holsworthy to "be compliant with all requirements". Earlier this year, Adrian Russell, a director of the farm, was in the running for an elected producer seat for the National Pig Association Pig Industry Group. He was unsuccessful in his bid for a seat but said he had "worked for 30-plus years in the pig industry".

The farm, which is owned by WJ Watkins and Son, has around 12,000 pigs. Animal protection organisation Animal Equality and photographer Aitor Garmendia made six visits to the site in October 2023, January 2024 and June 2024 and gathered more than 100 hours of footage of what has been described as "a string of abuses, both legal and illegal".

Animal Equality say they saw pregnant and mother pigs in 'farrowing crates', which are so small that pigs are unable to turn around. They say they captured footage of piglets being "thumped" against concrete walls, piglets having their tails cut off and teeth clipped without anaesthetic.

⚠️ Want the latest Devon breaking news and top stories first? Click here to join our WhatsApp group. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice ⚠️

Harrowing images show dead piglets throughout the farm, which Animal Equality say may have died from starvation, sickness or being crushed, according to paperwork. The organisation says it even found a bin full of dead piglets.

They also say that mother pigs showed signs of "psychological distress", such as bar-biting, while one had sustained a bloody wound after becoming caught when it tried to turn inside the cage. Others suffered from sores on their legs and vulval prolapses.

Animal Equality say this isn't the first time that they have uncovered "poor practices" at Cross Farm as, in 2017, they filmed pigs being kept in dilapidated buildings covered in slurry and lying in their own waste.

A crew from Glass Wall Films have also paid a visit in late 2023, capturing footage of dead piglets, pigs engaging in cannibalism, pigs with untreated wounds and cramped, "filthy" conditions.

Abigail Penny, Executive Director of Animal Equality UK, said: "Having visited Cross Farm personally on several occasions, I witnessed the suffering of these animals first-hand. I looked caged mother pigs in the eye and their deep sorrow will stay with me forever.

"Cross Farm is a repeat offender, having been at the epicentre of a number of investigations over the years. Despite this, we monitored this farm over the course of eight months, and yet again discovered pervasive and ongoing issues. The authorities absolutely must step in and take our complaints seriously.

"Pigs on Cross Farm struggle and suffer in the most abysmal conditions. All too often their cries are kept firmly behind closed doors, but our footage shows the wretched reality that so many mother pigs face on British farms today." She called on consumers to "stop paying for this pain and buy plant-based instead".

Animal Equality has rejected the National Pig Association's assertion that the farm is compliant and has engaged law firm, Advocates for Animals, to submit a formal complaint to Trading Standards. They argue that the treatment of pigs and piglets could amount to several legal breaches.

Solicitor at Advocates for Animals, Taylor Mcleod, said: "The potential breaches to animal welfare laws seen in the footage captured by Animal Equality is very concerning.

"Animal welfare legislation exists to protect animals from the treatment seen in the video footage, and the governing authorities have a duty to ensure that these laws are adhered to. We hope that a thorough investigation will be carried out and the appropriate changes are made to ensure that welfare standards are enforced and upheld".

According to some experts, Cross Farm is not unique. Dr Alice Brough, a swine vet who worked with commercial pig producers across the UK between 2015 and 2019, says that "very little of UK pig farming is suitable for the eyes of the public".

She said: "The stockperson in this footage shows an appalling lack of compassion for the pigs under his care, and a blatant disregard for the clearly laid out regulations. But unfortunately this is not an isolated incident. Most of what we see here is typical of the industry as a whole… very little of UK pig farming is suitable for the eyes of the public".

Eva Read, PhD candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science who has conducted research on commercial standard pig farming in the UK and studied vocal communication of emotions at a pig farm in France agrees.

She said: "This footage is distressing, not because it is an example of extreme but rare horrors that are possible in UK pig farms, but rather because it is not rare. These videos show what life is like at farrowing for sows and piglets in what is, as far as I can discern, quite an average UK indoor pig farm. I see here standard practice and that is what should motivate us all to demand better".

In 2022, Animal Equality and The Animal Law Foundation released a report which said that fewer than three per cent of the UK's 290,000 farms on average are inspected by a regulatory body each year and 0.33 per cent of complaints lead to a prosecution.

It also found that nearly three quarters of pigs routinely have their tails cut off on farms, a procedure they say is physically and psychologically painful practice carried out without pain relief.