Caged 'Pigs' Force
Shoppers to Face Factory-Farm Cruelty
New Undercover Investigation Reveals Shocking Abuse of Pigs
Killed for Pork Products
PETA Media Release
November 17, 2008
Des Moines, Iowa -- To illustrate the immense suffering and
routine cruelty that pigs endure before they are made into ham and bacon, two
pig sculptures--confined to metal stalls just as pigs on factory farms
are--will be displayed outside a Dahl's Foods market in Des Moines on Tuesday.
The display--part of PETA's "Think Before You
Eat" campaign--comes on the heels of the group's new undercover exposé of
a Midwestern pig farm that supplies Hormel. The investigation uncovered
routine, intentional abuse: Investigators documented that workers kicked
injured pigs, beat pigs with metal rods, and shocked pigs with electric
prods--sometimes in the face. Workers killed piglets by slamming their heads
against the floor. One worker shoved a cane into a pig's vagina.
PETA protesters will also be screening footage from that
investigation and urging people to forgo factory-farmed meat.
On today's factory farms, sows used for breeding are kept
virtually immobilized for months at a time in cramped, concrete stalls with
metal bars. They are given drugs to make them grow quickly, which frequently
results in lameness. Workers cut off piglets' tails, clip their teeth with
pliers, and castrate male piglets--all without anesthetics. Finally, at the
slaughterhouse, pigs are hung upside-down and bled to death, often while they
are still conscious.
"If people knew about the suffering that goes into
every package of pork, they'd lose their lunch," says PETA campaign
coordinator Lindsay Rajt. "Anyone who eats hot
dogs, ham, sausages, or bacon from factory farms is supporting abuse. The best
way for people to avoid this senseless cruelty is to avoid meat from factory
farms and go vegetarian."
Where: Dahl's Foods,
When: Tuesday, November 18, 12 noon
peta.org