Our Undercover Investigators Answer Your Questions November 12, 2008

Posted by Marta at November 12, 2008 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack

Remember when we gave you the opportunity to ask our undercover investigators a question? We received some really great questions, so now, here's your glimpse into what it's like for an undercover investigator. We would like to give a heartfelt thank you to the two brave individuals who went undercover at this pig factory farm in Iowa (and to undercover investigators everywhere). The investigators hope it will motivate you to make a difference for animals each day in your own way. Here's what they had to say:

What exactly was your reaction when you saw just how badly the animals were really being treated? Did you cry?

Investigator 1: I was horrified and terribly saddened. But I had a good idea of what I was going to see, and I prepared myself for it. ... Because it is so critical to conceal my identity and my sympathy for animals while undercover, I [can only] cry on the inside when I see the abuse and the cruelty. I can never let my coworkers see that side of me. Sometimes, I will let out a good cry at home or in my car after a particularly disturbing day.

Investigator 2: There were some nights I would get home and get emotional about the day's events. You have to hold it inside until you get home. If the other employees see you react in an emotional way, it would blow your cover. The people whom I have met working at a hog farm would never get emotional or upset due to the mistreatment of the animals, and so we must act in that same manner.

How are you able to keep your sanity?

Investigator 1: If I want to do all I can possibly do to help animals, I have to stay sane and focused. If I lose it or explode, that will not help animals. If I let the insanity get to me and destroy me, then I will no longer be an asset to the animal rights movement. I would not be making the best use of my time and my ability to effect change for animals. I force myself to look at the big picture.

Investigator 2: Who said that we do? ;) Truth is, it gets hard. Sometimes the only way to get through it is to take it one day at a time. Even then, there are times when it gets to you, and you aren't sure if you can make it that one more day. But by forcing yourself to go that one more day, that's what makes all the difference. You have to focus on the fact that by being there, you can show the world what is happening, and someday, hopefully, it will stop happening.

To read all of the questions and answers from the investigators, click here.

Do you think you'd be able to handle being an undercover investigator?

♥ Marta

22 Charges Filed Based on PETA Investigation at Hormel Supplier October 23, 2008

Posted by Marta at October 23, 2008 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBack

Here's a special guest blog from PETA's Christine Dore.

It's with a proud and ecstatic heart that I report this news today! Our investigation into an Iowa pig farm that breeds piglets destined for Hormel has resulted in 22—that's right, count them—22 criminal charges.

The Greene County Sheriff just announced in a news release that six individuals employed by the farm at the time of PETA's investigation now face a total of 22 counts of livestock neglect and abuse. Those charged include a former farm manager—who we understand still works on another pig factory farm—and a supervisor, as well as two individuals who still punch the clock at the Iowa factory farm as we speak.

A whopping 14 of the counts are aggravated misdemeanors—the stiffest possible charges under Iowa state law for crimes committed against farmed animals—carrying up to two years behind bars. To PETA's knowledge, this is unprecedented.

Charges based on PETA's undercover investigations are now pending against pig factory farmers in both Iowa—the nation's top pig-raising state—and North Carolina, which occupies the second rung on that dubious list!

This is a small victory for farmed animals, but we mustn't forget that Hormel, which financially supports this farm, has by all appearances yet to make any changes as a result of this investigation. It has refused to meet with us or even watch all of the footage, which we have repeatedly offered to show the company. Maybe now that the law has spoken up, Hormel will finally listen.

Please, urge Hormel to take action now.

-Christine

UPDATE: Hormel Supplier Investigation October 20, 2008

Posted by Marta at October 20, 2008 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 6 ) | TrackBack

Remember the shocking footage from an undercover investigation of a factory farm in Iowa that raises pigs destined for Hormel? PETA's undercover investigators documented workers repeatedly hitting pigs with metal gate rods and canes, a worker slamming the heads of piglet "runts" into the floor, and a supervisor who shoved a cane into a sow's vagina and talked about sexually abusing pigs.

Even after the farm changed ownership and management during the investigation, this horrifying treatment and abuse of animals continued.

That being said, we have just released previously unseen footage from the investigation, showing the farm manager kicking and shocking a crippled pig. Can you believe he's still the manager on the farm?!

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In the video, the manager is seen shocking a pig with an electric prod and kicking her—both violations of the farm owner's own written policy—in a prolonged attempt to make her stand, which is a requirement for pigs sold for slaughter. The suffering sow, who was unable to stand due to crippled hind limbs, was left in pen for two days, bleeding from a severed hoof, until she was ultimately shot and killed.

This shocking footage was recorded the very next working day after PETA's undercover investigator reported the abuse of pigs that he had seen at the farm to this very manager.

I seriously can't believe that this man is still the farm manager. Think about it: he is responsible for overseeing other employees and how they treat the pigs in that factory farm. Do you think someone who is treating pigs this way is a good example for his employees on the humane handling of animals?

Our demands of Hormel stand firm despite the company's continued failure to respond to our attempts to work with them. Join us in renewing our ask of Hormel. Demand that they enact meaningful reforms to prevent this sort of abuse from occurring on its suppliers' farms.

What do you think about the fact that the same man is still the farm manager?

Update: We wanted to make sure that it's clear to our readers that we offered several times to show Hormel and the farm's management ALL the footage that was taken during PETA's undercover investigation at the supplier's farm—including the above footage of the manager. Neither Hormel nor the farm's management took us up on our offer.

♥ Marta

Your Chance: Ask Our Undercover Investigators A Question October 16, 2008

Posted by Marta at October 16, 2008 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 17 ) | TrackBack

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be an investigator? Someone who goes undercover in factory farms, slaughterhouses, laboratories, and other animal abusing facilities to film what's really happening for the world to see?

These brave men and women have nothing but my utmost respect. After all, to me, being an undercover investigator seems like one of the hardest jobs out there.

Remember this investigation into a pig factory farm in Iowa? Please check it out if you haven't yet, and ask Hormel to follow PETA's eight-point policy to govern future pig-farming operations.

The incredible people who went undercover for this particular investigation have agreed to answer some questions for you. We hear from curious people all the time who wonder what it's like to be an undercover investigator, so this is your chance to find out. What would you like to ask the investigators? Comment below with your question.

My question would be: How were you able to keep yourself from screaming when the piglets were being slammed into the ground? I would have lost it.

We'll post the answers to 5-10 questions here on the blog (unfortunately, we can't have the investigators answer all of your questions), so be sure to keep an eye out.

♥ Marta

You Are In The Newspaper! September 30, 2008

Posted by Pulin Modi at September 30, 2008 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 9 ) | TrackBack

If you went to a concert from May through August of this year, you probably signed the peta2 petition for the Woof campaign. Thank you for that—you're helping to make headlines!

I know sometimes your lazy, pessimistic friends ask you what good it'll do to sign a petition at a show or online. Well, let me tell you something—it does a lot! We sent every single one of those petitions from Warped Tour, Mayhem Festival, and other shows to Hormel's corporate headquarters last week. You can read the press release here. This was in response to an investigation which found truly terrifying abuse of animals at an Iowa pig factory farm which supplies piglets who are raised and killed for Hormel products. If you haven't seen it yet, you should look at this.

Along with sending the petitions to Hormel and other meat companies, we explained that 275,000 of you took the time to ask for pigs to be given better protection. Considering it's illegal to be cruel to a dog, why would it be ok to abuse a pig who suffers just the same?

I just wanted to let everyone know that the petitions became a top news story in the local paper of Hormel's hometown of Austin, Minnesota! That means that their corporate employees are finding it that much more difficult to justify the cruelty seen in this video, and we're really bringing the pressure against companies! It also goes to show that people do care about animals and want to stop cruelty to animals. Read the full news article here.

Thank you all! Now go brag to your parents, friends, and family that you're helping make a difference!

-Pulin

(Warning: Graphic Photo) Torture, Tails, and Testicles September 16, 2008

Posted by Marta at September 16, 2008 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 60 ) | TrackBack

By now, you're likely well aware of how awesome pigs are—remember, they're even smarter than dogs!

That makes what I'm about to share with you that much more disturbing. It's horrifying to imagine any animal being slammed head-first into the ground, right? Imagine this happening to a piglet...

A new PETA investigation of a pig factory farm in Iowa—which breeds and supplies piglets to be grown and eventually slaughtered for Hormel (maker of SPAM and Dinty Moore), has captured extremely disturbing footage of workers abusing sows and their piglets.

In the video, you'll see pregnant pigs kept in gestation crates so small that the mothers-to-be cannot even turn around, workers and supervisors kicking pigs maliciously, beating them with metal rods, and piglets being slammed against the floor to kill them (a "standard practice" in the pig meat industry). Some of the piglets convulsed for more than 12 minutes before dying.

Also documented by PETA's undercover investigators:

• A supervisor repeatedly urinating near crated pigs, his urine running into the only area where food was dropped and animals could lay their heads.
• Dead piglets' entrails removed, ground into a stew and set under heat lamps to grow bacteria. This stew—called "feedback"—was then mixed with feed and fed to the sows.
• Workers cutting off piglets' tails and pulling out piglet's testicles—without any pain killers—as the small animals screamed next to their mothers. Their tails and testicles went onto a pile on the shed floor.

Tails and testicles from baby pigs

This makes me shudder. Seriously, can you believe all this stuff happened before these pigs were even sent to the slaughterhouse?

Watch the undercover video for yourself, forward this investigation to everyone you know, and take action to stop this abuse today!

♥ Marta

PS - Notice the PETA mention at the end of the video. Little did they know!