Police Footage Reveals Pigs Suffering at Tyson Facility—PETA Seeks Charges
“Nothing but dead pigs. Dead pigs that are in their facility …. You have bloody pigs … dying!”
Those are the unsettling words of one person who exposed death and misery at a Tyson Foods transfer station facility outside Osage, Iowa.
After the concerned man tagged PETA in a tweet containing video footage of dead and suffering pigs at the Tyson-run barn, we sent a complaint to the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Department in Iowa.
Bodycam footage from a deputy—who responded to a call made by the concerned man—shows the same shed with pigs in poor condition. The deputy learned that the dead pigs seen in the video had been taken to the shed in such bad shape that the facility operator shot them when they arrived. The shed’s operator left other bleeding pigs to suffer, according to the footage.
These pigs were hauled away from farms because of injuries and illnesses. Rather than ending their suffering, workers shipped them to the shed so that Tyson could try to profit from them—if they survived long enough to be slaughtered.
Pigs can bond with humans, like to play games, and even enjoy a good massage. They’ve rescued humans from drowning and fires. No animal—human or otherwise—should be left to languish in pain and agony.
The deputy spoke with the driver of a rendering truck preparing to pick up the dead bodies. The renderer told him that workers sent the pigs to the Tyson facility with severely bitten, bloody tails. The deputy said that on some pigs, “It didn’t look like there was a tail left anymore. … [I]t’s all bloody.”
The renderer admitted that one of the suffering pigs pointed out by the deputy had “severe” injuries and “probably should be euthanized.” Instead of ending this animal’s misery, the renderer said, Tyson was attempting to sell the pig for “five bucks.”
The renderer admits that this “kind of crap gives the hog industry a bad name” but later says, “you’re never gonna clean it up. Because it’s money.”
Tyson continues to deny that conditions for pigs are appalling, despite the bodycam footage.
In August, PETA contacted Tyson, asking it to conduct an internal investigation into this facility. Tyson denied the “evidence of abuse or mishandling” blatantly shown in the man’s video.
To date, Tyson has failed to acknowledge what’s depicted in the footage. A representative said that the company “will not comment on the specifics” shown. Rather than changing operations to avoid subjecting injured animals to further torment, Tyson’s “auditors” made only “minor recommendations based primarily around documentation” at the facility, and the company’s representative stated that the facility “passed” multiple audits. This is the same meaningless corporate speak Tyson and others in the industry respond with every time we bring issues to their attention.
We’re asking the Mitchell County attorney to file livestock neglect charges against whomever loaded the truck with injured, miserable pigs. It’s painfully clear that these animals never should have been loaded onto a truck in the first place, and PETA wants the authorities to make it clear that cruelty won’t go unchecked.
These victims of the meat industry are why we must fight every single “ag-gag” law.
Iowa legislators had attempted to conceal video footage of factory farms from the public by passing an “ag-gag” law, which a PETA lawsuit defeated last year. This single Tyson facility inflicts just an iota of the agony that animals endure before they even reach a slaughterhouse kill floor.
Animals languish for hours upon hours inside severely crowded trucks hauling them to slaughterhouses. Many die from heatstroke in warmer months or freeze to death in the winter. Others sustain debilitating broken bones and internal injuries when other animals—fearing for their lives—trample them in an attempt to escape the living hell they’re in.
Animals used for food—with all their emotions and personality—want to live.
Millions of animals suffer like this every day. We all can make a difference by going vegan.
The meat industry will always choose profit over compassion. But we can all easily save nearly 200 animals a year—simply by not eating them! Order a free vegan starter kit from PETA. We have all the resources necessary to support folks in ditching meat, eggs, and dairy.
Already vegan? Great! Why not send a vegan starter kit to a friend or family member?
