Investigation of Farmer Sought After Frantic Pig Dragged From Truck

PETA Cites Federal Report Showing That a Farmer Unloading Pigs at Swift Pork Company Pulled a Downed Pig Down a Ramp by the Leg

For Immediate Release:
August 10, 2017

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Armed with damning U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) records, PETA sent a letter this morning calling on the Marshall County attorney to investigate and, as appropriate, file criminal charges against the farmer who transported pigs to Swift Pork Company and then dragged a downed pig off the truck by the leg—causing the animal to scream and struggle.

According to the USDA documents, on July 18 an inspector witnessed a farmer grab the leg of a downed pig who was lying on his or her side in a truck and drag the screaming animal down a ramp toward the slaughterhouse. The pig struggled to stand up several times before the farmer pushed the animal back down. PETA notes that this conduct may violate the state’s livestock-neglect statute, which prohibits a person from “fail[ing] to provide livestock with care consistent with customary animal husbandry practices.” The National Pork Board deems dragging pigs by a limb unacceptable and recommends that downed pigs be put on a sled or mat or else rendered unconscious before they’re dragged.

“PETA is calling for a criminal investigation of the farmer who yanked a distressed, downed pig off a transport truck by the leg,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. “There’s no difference between the terror and pain that this pig felt and how dogs or cats would feel if they were roughly handled by a stranger after a miserable journey.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that animals have the same central nervous system and sense of self-preservation as humans and that the only way to prevent pigs, cows, chickens, and other animals from suffering in slaughterhouses is to go vegan.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.