Cruelty exposed again on Cranswick pig farm

Supermarkets including Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have suspended supplies from the farm following the revelations. Cranswick says it has dismissed four staff members shown in the footage and promised to install cameras across its sites.

But this is the third time one of Cranswick’s farms has been caught in an animal cruelty scandal, following similar abuse uncovered at its North Moor and Somerby Top farms. Clearly, this is not about a few rogue workers – it is a systemic problem. Even more disturbing is that one of the workers involved had reportedly received training just ten days earlier, raising serious questions about how effective Cranswick’s welfare policies really are.

What this tells us about factory farming

Factory farming is built on cruelty. Pigs are kept in barren sheds where they cannot root, forage, or enjoy natural behaviours. These conditions cause frustration, injury, and stress - and when welfare is sacrificed for profit, it is always animals who suffer.

Cranswick is one of the UK’s largest pork producers, supplying major supermarkets. If cruelty like this is happening in a company of this size, with the resources to prevent it, what does that say about the system as a whole?

This isn’t about one farm or a handful of workers. It’s about a broken food system that treats living, feeling beings as disposable commodities.

Why we need a Just Transition

Our current food system is unsustainable. It causes immense animal suffering, drives climate change, pollutes rivers, and traps farmers in a race to the bottom. But there is another way.

A Just Transition for UK farming would move us away from intensive factory farming and towards higher-welfare, nature-friendly systems. It would mean animals raised outdoors with space to move, farmers supported to earn fair livelihoods, and food that doesn’t come at the cost of cruelty.

Find out more about what a Just Transition means

Take action

The abuse uncovered at Cranswick shows us what factory farming really looks like behind closed doors. It’s time to stop it.

With your help, we can push the government to phase out factory farming in the UK. Add your name to our petition calling for a ban on new factory farms and the expansion of existing ones.