Johnston’s Meats, a pig slaughterhouse in Chilliwack, BC is facing multiple animal cruelty investigations after the release of an undercover video last month, exposing pigs being violently sent to their deaths and killed, often in blatant violation of animal protection laws.
Rather than acknowledging this disturbing footage, and unable to deny the authenticity, Johnston’s Meats attempted to suppress the footage. The company filed a false copyright claim over Animal Justice’s exposé video, leading to a brief removal by video platform Vimeo. However, following a counterclaim by Animal Justice, citing fair use principles under copyright law, the video was promptly restored.
The release of the hidden-camera video has led to parallel investigations by both the BC SPCA and the province’s Ministry of Agriculture. Despite this, Johnston’s remains silent, refusing to commit to addressing the abuse at its slaughterhouse, or even to address media inquiries. This is part of a common industry strategy when exposed for abusing animals: attempting to silence critics, while refusing to take responsibility for illegal cruelty.
Horrific Suffering for “Happy” Meat
Johnston’s Meats slaughterhouse is a provincially licensed facility that brutally kills around 500 pigs daily. The haunting whistleblower footage reveals the grim reality of these pigs’ final moments—most are visibly terrified as they watch their friends electrocuted and stabbed in front of them, and realize they’re next.
Many pigs fight back against entering the kill chute, and need to be aggressively forced in by workers—a far cry from the peaceful, oblivious walk and quick death that the meat industry wants consumers to believe in.
Next, pigs are electrocuted. Despite the legal requirement for animals to be stunned before being killed, workers regularly failed to render animals unconscious before slitting their throats and hanging them to bleed out. Many pigs were still alert and fought for their lives on the kill floor—fully conscious while their throats were slit. In some cases, pigs are still conscious after they’ve been hung up to bleed out and are stunned a second time.
Rampant Abuse of Farmed Animals Across Canada
This awful abuse is not an isolated incident—it is standard in factory farming and slaughtering. Slaughterhouses and farms prioritize profits over animal welfare.
Animal farming in Canada operates in the dark, without public inspections. However, inspectors are present at slaughterhouses. The abuse uncovered at Johnston’s happened under the nose of provincial meat inspectors, who failed to stop the cruelty. Without effective laws and enforcement, undercover investigations still play a pivotal role in revealing the dark side of animal farming in Canada—consistently exposing shocking, illegal abuse inside farms and slaughterhouses.
For this reason, the meat industry continues to lobby for “ag gag” laws, designed to silence and punish whistleblowers, and keep the public uninformed.
Hold Animal Abusers Accountable
Please join us in demanding Johnston’s Meats be prosecuted, and that video surveillance be required at all slaughterhouses so people can see the suffering for themselves.
