Rivalea, Australia’s largest pork producer has dismissed two of its workers following evidence of the mistreatment of pigs at the company’s abattoir in Corowa.
The footage which shows pigs being ‘excessively prodded and kicked by staff', was supplied anonymously to Animal rights group, Aussie Farms and released last week. The footage has since sparked an investigation by the company’s management and New South Wales police, ABC News reports.
Chris Delforce, spokesperson for Aussie Farms said that before slaughter, Rivalea stuns pigs with carbon dioxide – a method that he says is inhumane. Delforce says that while the group may not be able to successfully gain a prosecution against the processor due to the likeliness of the footage being obtain illegally, he hopes that the incident will draw attention to the methods that Rivalea use.
"As far as we can tell these cameras were installed illegally and that does make it difficult to gain a prosecution against Rivalea," said Delforce.
"But I suppose in this instance we're not so much looking for a prosecution because this is just one of many abattoirs that uses this system.
"Really what we're trying to do is show people that this is how it happens."
Managing director Mick Hewat of Rivalea said that the company dismissed the employees in question following an investigation of the incident.
"We were distressed and shocked to see the footage," said Hewat.
"We are actively working to assess and reinforce the effectiveness of our animal welfare systems."