Group highlights abattoir concern

Morrisons has said it will deal with issues raised by a pressure group in its Pinchbeck slaughterhouse.

The Animal Justice Project had an ‘undercover investigator’ working at the Brunel Road business Woodhead Brothers off Enterprise Way.
It’s uploaded videos of what it says is cruelty to pigs that goes against guidelines in the premises now part of Morrisons.
A spokesman for the Animal Justice Project said: “The terrifying final moments faced by pigs and cows at Woodhead Bros slaughterhouse in Spalding have been revealed by our undercover worker, filmed in late 2022.
“The site is one of three Morrisons abattoirs in the UK and together they kill 3,800 cows, 11,000 lambs and 30,000 pigs every week. Morrisons was the first supermarket to install CCTV inside their abattoirs to “reassure the public of good welfare practice at slaughter”, but our undercover agent caught workers repeatedly abusing pigs and cows, using electric prods, all whilst in the presence of ‘Official Veterinarians’ (OVs).
“Within the time that our undercover worker was present at Woodhead Bros, animals were verbally and physically abused, sworn and aggressively shouted at, pigs showed severe lameness, had large hernias and had acute respiratory distress, panicked cows were hit and had electric prods used on them.
“Non-compliances were evident, abundant and largely ignored by officials.
“With unwatched CCTV, vets ignoring clear violations, audits not reflecting the reality of day-to-day slaughterhouse activity and the severe under-reporting of non-compliances, it is clear that the system is not broken, but is designed to fail animals, protect profit and maintain abuse.”
A spokesman for Morrisons said: “We care deeply about animal welfare, both in our own operations and throughout our supply chain, and we’re confident that our training and monitoring systems are among the best in the industry.
“There is however very concerning footage of a pig that arrived at the abattoir with a clear injury to its front leg.
“We are looking carefully into how this happened.
“The video also shows more forceful than necessary use of the rattle – which is totally unacceptable – and will be dealt with.
“We will also be stepping up the training of third party hauliers and our own colleagues, ensuring the safe movement of animals on our sites.”