We watched this video in ‘Behaviour group’ last week (‘Behaviour group’ is the weekly lunchtime event for all the UoG welfare student and faculty):
http://www.mercyforanimals.ca/pigcruelty/
Some awful stuff, though as we discussed it’s important to disentangle the ‘looks awful but is probably OK’ (killing piglets by bashing them on the head – looks truly brutal but done well is about as good as it gets), from the ‘it is awful, but it’s also reality folks’ (the practices that are bad for pigs but perfectly legal), from the ‘this farm is appalling and deserves an expose’ (Abu Ghraib style cruelty and mockery). This could be what it takes to make the general public understand where their food comes from (and hopefully rebel). I am therefore a huge fan of this type of undercover work. It’s not illegal, and even better, Mercy for Animals worked to get some great media coverage by W5 / CTV – much more effective than just releasing the vid themselves: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/w5-report-sparks-investigations-into-manitoba-pig-farm-1.1072729.
Animal Behaviour & Welfare in the Mason Lab 