Media Releases

Pig Slaughterhouse Should be Charged with Criminal Animal Cruelty: Animal Rights Lawyers

BURLINGTON, ON—National animal law organization Animal Justice is calling for criminal animal cruelty charges to be filed against Fearmans Pork, a slaughterhouse in Ontario that kills 10,000 young pigs each day.

On October 5, a truck carrying 180 pigs overturned as it approached the slaughter facility, killing, injuring, and trapping the crowded pigs inside. Video footage shows surviving pigs being hit with paddles to force them out of the truck and across the parking lot to be killed.

Some injured pigs collapsed outside the truck; witnesses report these animals were offered no medical attention, shelter, or comfort for many hours before they were finally stunned with a captive bolt pistol and transported by tractor inside the slaughter facility. Animal advocates pleaded with the slaughterhouse to allow them to bring the animals for medical treatment and to live out their lives at a farm sanctuary, but were ignored.

Section 446(1) of Canada’s Criminal Code prohibits causing injury to animals through wilful neglect while they are being driven. Section 445.1(1) prohibits causing unnecessary suffering to animals. Ontario animal cruelty laws also prohibit allowing animals to be in distress, require animals to be provided with medical attention, and require euthanasia be performed promptly.

Dr. Anita Krajnc, who is currently standing trial for giving water to a heat-stressed pig outside this same slaughterhouse, was arrested for crossing a police barrier to document the plight of the suffering animals.

“Twice now, police have laid criminal charges against the wrong person,” said lawyer Anna Pippus, director of farmed animal advocacy for Animal Justice. “Once again, animals lay suffering and dying without any medical attention, while police arrested the woman who came to their aid rather than those who caused the animals to suffer in the first place. Abusing and neglecting vulnerable animals is both morally wrong and a criminal offence. The only logical course of action is for police to drop the charges against Dr. Krajnc and to instead charge Fearmans Pork for animal cruelty.”

– 30 –

For more information, contact:

Anna Pippus

APippus [at] AnimalJustice.ca

Photo: Julie O’Neill