Don’t Force Pregnant Pigs Into Cruel Confinement at High-End Meat Farms

Target: Élisabeth Borne, Prime Minister of France

Goal: Ban the use of cruel and unhygienic confinement at high-end ham farms.

Consumers may–or may not–be surprised to learn that what is considered high-end meat is deeply rooted in cruel treatment of animals and disgusting welfare practices. Compassion in World Farming, an animal welfare organization, recently released a series of disturbing footage taken at 16 Parma and Bayonne ham supply farms across France, as well as some in Spain, Italy, and Poland.

Throughout the videos, sows were reportedly shoved in gestation crates too small for them to even turn around in, after being artificially inseminated by workers. Once the sows give birth to their piglets, they will likely be improperly nurtured due to the boundary posed by the crate. Pigs were apparently living among their own excrement, and the facility was allegedly stained with the thick, sickening scent of ammonia.

Sign this petition to ban gestation crates throughout France and to demand pigs at parma and bayonne farms be able to move and turn around freely.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Prime Minister Borne,

Despite EU members stating that the use of gestation crates for sows has been predominantly banned, recently released footage of Parma and Bayonne ham supply farms throughout France and other EU countries has seemingly demonstrated otherwise. After being artificially inseminated, pigs were–according to the disturbing footage–shoved into tiny crates not even large enough for them to turn around. Investigators reported that the facility smelt strongly of ammonia, as pigs were lying in their own excrement.

We are asking you, Prime Minister Borne, to ban gestation crates for good in France and improve the welfare of pigs on farms throughout your country.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Mercy For Animals MFA