"Do you think it’s acceptable to cram an animal into a crate so small she can’t even turn around, lie down comfortably, walk, run, play, or engage in other basic behaviors? Walmart does.
In fact, the pork sold at Walmart comes from factory farms where pregnant pigs spend nearly their entire lives locked in narrow, metal gestation crates—cages barely larger than their own bodies.
How do I know? Because I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I am an investigator with Mercy For Animals, and for more than two months I worked undercover at Christensen Farms, a factory farm that supplies pork to Walmart. The misery and abuse that I witnessed at this factory farm will haunt me for the rest of my life."
In fact, the pork sold at Walmart comes from factory farms where pregnant pigs spend nearly their entire lives locked in narrow, metal gestation crates—cages barely larger than their own bodies.
How do I know? Because I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I am an investigator with Mercy For Animals, and for more than two months I worked undercover at Christensen Farms, a factory farm that supplies pork to Walmart. The misery and abuse that I witnessed at this factory farm will haunt me for the rest of my life."
"Thousands of pregnant pigs were confined to barren metal crates barely larger than their own bodies. These pigs could not turn around. They could not walk. They could not even lie down comfortably. I saw pigs with open wounds and bloody pressure sores from rubbing against the bars of their metal cages or lying on hard concrete. Pigs would constantly ram their heads against their tiny stalls or spend day after day, hour after hour, biting the bars of their cages out of frustration. These intelligent and social animals would go insane from boredom and stress.
While all of the abuses I witnessed at Christensen Farms were horrific, the use of gestation crates for pregnant pigs is perhaps the cruelest factory farming practice in the world. In fact, gestation crates are so cruel they have been banned in nine US states, as well as in the entire European Union.
Recognizing their inherent cruelty, major food providers, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Chipotle, and major grocery retailers, including Safeway, Kroger, Kmart, Costco and Whole Foods, have all started demanding their suppliers do away with these cruel crates. But Walmart continue to support blatant animal abuse by selling pork from suppliers who confine pigs in tiny crates.
I am asking that you help the pigs whose suffering I witnessed, as well as the millions of others across the nation who are subjected to similar abuses. Please take a moment to sign my petition urging Walmart to do the right thing and demand their pork suppliers stop confining pigs in cruel gestation crates."
While all of the abuses I witnessed at Christensen Farms were horrific, the use of gestation crates for pregnant pigs is perhaps the cruelest factory farming practice in the world. In fact, gestation crates are so cruel they have been banned in nine US states, as well as in the entire European Union.
Recognizing their inherent cruelty, major food providers, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Chipotle, and major grocery retailers, including Safeway, Kroger, Kmart, Costco and Whole Foods, have all started demanding their suppliers do away with these cruel crates. But Walmart continue to support blatant animal abuse by selling pork from suppliers who confine pigs in tiny crates.
I am asking that you help the pigs whose suffering I witnessed, as well as the millions of others across the nation who are subjected to similar abuses. Please take a moment to sign my petition urging Walmart to do the right thing and demand their pork suppliers stop confining pigs in cruel gestation crates."
BREAKING NEWS: Walmart Announces Sweeping Animal Welfare Policy
May 22, 2015 — Today, Walmart—the nation’s largest food retailer responsible for 25 percent of grocery sales in the U.S.—announced a groundbreaking commitment to improving farmed animal welfare across its entire global supply chain: http://bit.ly/WalmartPolicy.
The announcement follows an intense campaign by Mercy For Animals against the retail giant, including six hidden-camera videos (http://bit.ly/WalmartInvestigations) taken by MFA exposing extreme animal abuse at Walmart pork suppliers across the country, more than 150 protests at Walmart stores nationwide, full-page newspaper ads, mobile billboards circling the Walmart headquarters in Arkansas, 640,000 petition signatures on Change.org, and A-list celebrity support from Joaquin Phoenix, Ryan Gosling, Sia, Pamela Anderson, Emily Deschanel, and more.
Citing the “five freedoms”—a set of ethical imperatives for farmed animal welfare—Walmart has committed to ending many of the cruelest forms of institutionalized animal abuse in its supply chain, including the intensive confinement of pregnant pigs in gestation crates, baby calves in veal crates, and egg-laying hens in battery cages. Walmart is also working to end needless mutilations of animals without painkillers, such as castration, tail docking, and dehorning, and is moving toward less cruel slaughter methods.
This is one of the most comprehensive animal welfare policies ever, signaling an important new era and direction for the company and marking a landmark day for the protection of farmed animals in America. With Walmart’s announcement, it’s never been clearer that the days are numbered for many of the factory farming industry’s cruelest practices.
The announcement follows an intense campaign by Mercy For Animals against the retail giant, including six hidden-camera videos (http://bit.ly/WalmartInvestigations) taken by MFA exposing extreme animal abuse at Walmart pork suppliers across the country, more than 150 protests at Walmart stores nationwide, full-page newspaper ads, mobile billboards circling the Walmart headquarters in Arkansas, 640,000 petition signatures on Change.org, and A-list celebrity support from Joaquin Phoenix, Ryan Gosling, Sia, Pamela Anderson, Emily Deschanel, and more.
Citing the “five freedoms”—a set of ethical imperatives for farmed animal welfare—Walmart has committed to ending many of the cruelest forms of institutionalized animal abuse in its supply chain, including the intensive confinement of pregnant pigs in gestation crates, baby calves in veal crates, and egg-laying hens in battery cages. Walmart is also working to end needless mutilations of animals without painkillers, such as castration, tail docking, and dehorning, and is moving toward less cruel slaughter methods.
This is one of the most comprehensive animal welfare policies ever, signaling an important new era and direction for the company and marking a landmark day for the protection of farmed animals in America. With Walmart’s announcement, it’s never been clearer that the days are numbered for many of the factory farming industry’s cruelest practices.
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