Pig’s Painful, Bleeding Injury Left Untreated at Elk River Farm; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe
For Immediate Release:
January 2, 2025
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
A damning, just-released U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report reveals that a pig at Manthei Hog Farm was left to suffer with a swollen and bleeding rectal prolapse and was confined with other pigs who were biting the inflamed tissue. In response, PETA today sent an urgent letter to Sherburne County Attorney Kathleen Heaney urging her to investigate and file charges against those responsible for the pig’s neglect. The Elk River farm raises pigs to be slaughtered for human consumption and supplies them to the animal experimentation industry, and it confined nearly 1,000 pigs at the time of the inspection.
According to the report, on November 25 a USDA veterinarian found the pig suffering from an untreated prolapse—a painful condition in which internal tissue protrudes from the anus—in a pen with five other pigs. The animal’s hindquarters and back legs were covered with blood, and the bright red, exposed tissue was swollen. Blood was also found on the floor and on other pigs who had bitten the tissue. Manthei Hog Farm was also cited in 2015 for killing pigs by gunshot, for dumping food directly on the feces-covered floor—leading to an outbreak of parasites—and for a “huge” insect infestation found near 364 heavily pregnant pigs and nursing mothers with piglets.
“Suffering and neglect are par for the course at farms like this one, where sick, stressed animals are crammed together by the hundreds or thousands in filthy sheds,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation on behalf of this pig and urges everyone to please go vegan to help spare animals a miserable life and a terrifying death.”
PETA is pursuing charges under state law because the USDA doesn’t render relief or aid to animals during its inspections and these violations carry no federal criminal or civil penalties..
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness and free Vegan Starter Kits for anyone thinking of making the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETA’s letter to Heaney follows.
January 2, 2025
The Honorable Kathleen Heaney
Sherburne County Attorney
Dear Ms. Heaney:
I hope this letter finds you well. I’m writing to request that your office (and the proper law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and, as suitable, file criminal charges against those responsible for neglecting a severely injured pig at Manthei Hog Farm LLC, located at 23130 112th St. in Livonia Township. PETA hopes investigators will visit the facility with a veterinarian who has expertise in pig health and welfare to identify any animals in need of care and opine on the conditions of and for approximately 1,000 pigs there.
On November 25, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) veterinarian found a pig suffering from a rectal prolapse—a very painful condition in which internal tissue protrudes from the anus—in a pen with five other pigs. The animal’s hindquarters and back legs were covered with blood, and the bright red, exposed tissue was swollen. The veterinarian found that the ailing pig had not been treated for her injury but simply left with the other animals, who had apparently bitten the tissue, leaving blood on the pen floor.
These findings appear to violate Minn. Stat. § 343.21, which prohibits anyone from permitting any animal to suffer unnecessarily, as this pig clearly did. The USDA renders no aid or relief whatsoever to animals on site, and these reports carry no criminal or civil penalties and don’t preempt criminal liability under state law for neglecting animals.
In addition, beyond the statute of limitations for this offense, you may want to note that in 2015, federal officials found that Manthei Hog Farm staff were killing pigs by gunshot, which is an unacceptable means of destroying animals. Officials also found that workers were feeding more than 200 pigs directly on the feces-covered floor, which apparently caused some to contract parasites. A “huge” population of insects were found near 364 heavily pregnant and nursing pigs and piglets as well. If you’d like to learn more about the USDA’s findings, please see the contact information for its office here.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Daniel Paden
Vice President of Legal Advocacy
