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Alarming new secretly-recorded footage from a pig slaughterhouse shows appalling conditions and blatant violations of animal protection laws. Provided anonymously to Animal Justice, the video is the first undercover look at pig slaughter in Canada.
The disturbing footage gathered from Johnston’s Packers (also known as Johnston’s Meats or Johnston’s Pork), a provincially-licensed slaughterhouse in Chilliwack, British Columbia, shows pigs desperately trying to escape, being stunned improperly and cut open while still conscious, and the heartbreaking fear in their eyes as they see they’re about to die.
Watch the Video
The shocking footage reveals:
- Improper electrical stunning, leaving pigs still conscious
- Workers slitting pigs’ throats while they’re still conscious
- Pigs hung up to bleed out while still conscious
- Workers prodding, kicking, & hitting pigs
- Pigs placed in a scalding tank while potentially still alive and moving
- Terror in pigs’ eyes as they watch others being killed, knowing they’re next
- Pigs screaming, fighting for their lives, & trying to escape
Pigs Still Conscious While Being Slaughtered
In slaughterhouses, it’s legally required that animals are stunned before being killed. But at Johnson’s, workers regularly fail to render animals unconscious before slitting their throats and hanging them to bleed out.
At the facility, the pigs are held in place with dual conveyor belts on either side, and positioned so a worker can electrocute them with a three-point stunner. The electric stunning device is supposedly more humane and effective than other stunning methods—however, the footage shows many workers foregoing the third point probe, stunning the animals improperly.
Over and over, pigs were seen having their throats slit while screaming and blinking—signs of consciousness. In the cramped slaughter room, pigs are killed in full view of one another, often while they are physically on top of or next to other pigs.
Next, they’re hung up by their ankles to bleed out. In multiple instances, the pigs were so obviously conscious that workers slit their throats a second time, then electrocuted them again for good measure. Some pigs even showed signs of consciousness while being loaded into a scalding tank, where their bodies are submerged in boiling hot water before they are fully dismembered.
“You see some animals in these videos that are blinking in response to touch stimuli, or moving in response to touch stimuli.”
— Dr. Izzy Hirji, Veterinarian
Terror in Pigs’ Eyes at the Kill Floor
The meat industry wants consumers to believe that animals willingly walk to their deaths, and that the entire process is pain-free and peaceful—but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Animals are living, feeling beings who want to be safe, just like us, and in the face of death, they fight desperately to preserve their lives.
In this rare footage from inside a chute leading to the kill floor, many pigs resist entering and desperately try to get away. Many pigs were aggressively forced into the chute, and prodded and kicked toward their deaths.
Pigs in the chute are lined up, one after the other. When they reach the kill floor, their eyes fill with heartbreaking fear or terror as they watch their friends being electrocuted and killed in front of them. They know they’re next.
Worker Safety Issues at Johnston’s
The kill floor is also an unsafe environment for workers. At one point, a worker is nearly hit by a falling pig, a common sight as many pigs are still thrashing while they’re hung up to bleed out. Another time, a worker appears to have been shocked by the stunning machine.
BC’s Fraser Valley: Hotspot of Horror
In recent years, multiple undercover exposés from factory farms and slaughterhouses in the Fraser Valley have revealed deeply troubling issues in the region.
Johnston’s, which kills 500 pigs a day, proudly markets its pork as being sourced from family farms around Fraser Valley—the home many farms and slaughterhouses that have previously been exposed for animal abuse like Chilliwack Cattle Sales, Cedar Valley Dairy, Elite Farm Services, Meadow Valley Meats, and Excelsior Hog Farm. Johnston’s has even killed pigs from Excelsior, which was exposed multiple times for illegal animal cruelty.
Johnston’s “proudly local” products are widely available at BC grocery stores and butcher shops—places that many consumers might associate with local and more “ethical” meat. While the company’s commercials boast of “happy animals,” the reality is that pigs are often deeply terrified and suffer when they are brutally slaughtered.
Pigs Are Incredible Animals
Pigs are remarkably intelligent, and are often said to share the cognitive abilities of a three-year-old child. They demonstrate impressive long-term memory, advanced problem-solving skills, and emotional intelligence, enabling them to show empathy and recognize the emotions of others.
Within their complex social structures, pigs form strong bonds and are even known to manipulate social situations to their advantage. Pigs can use tools and are capable of playing video games.
Just like the cats and dogs we cherish as companions, pigs deserve protection and freedom to live their lives unharmed by human hands.
Take Action: Stop Illegal Suffering at Slaughter
Johnston’s Packers regularly botches the slaughter process, causing excruciating suffering to pigs as they are killed piece by piece. Please join us in calling on the BC government to prosecute Johnston’s and require surveillance cameras in slaughterhouses that broadcast directly to the internet, so that the public can see the suffering behind slaughter with their own eyes.
