Corowa Piggery & Abattoir

Redlands NSW 2646, Australia
Name: Corowa Piggery & Abattoir
Address: Redlands NSW 2646, Australia
LGA/Council: Federation Council
Council website: federationcouncil.nsw.gov.au
Council email: [email protected]
Council phone: (02) 6033 8999
Summary:

The largest piggery in the southern hemisphere and the largest pig slaughterhouse in Australia, killing up to 1 million pigs per year.

Hidden cameras reveal the suffering behind the so-called "humane" stunning method of carbon dioxide gas.

Categories:
Last known status: Open and operating
Listing updated: 2023
Listing ID: 98c24
Website: www.rivalea.com.au
Owned by: Rivalea , ABN: 53 004 892 835
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The Corowa Piggery is the largest piggery in the southern hemisphere, with 45000 sows (as of 2010). The slaughterhouse/abattoir on the same property was once the largest pig slaughterhouse in Australia, with a capacity of up to 1 million kills per year.

The Corowa Abattoir uses carbon dioxide gas (CO2) to render the pigs unconscious before they are killed; this is touted by the industry and RSPCA as the most "humane" method of slaughter particularly where such large numbers of pigs are involved. Free range pigs are sometimes killed at this abattoir, in the exact same manner, from Rivalea’s free range facility on the same property in Corowa. The slaughterhouse and piggery have a constant security patrol, and the slaughterhouse has CCTV cameras monitored 24/7 by Rivalea.

In a world-first, hidden cameras were placed inside the gas chamber in early 2014, revealing the suffering of every pig who goes through that system, screaming and thrashing for air as they are suffocated. At the entrance to the chamber, an employee leans over the terrified pigs, jabbing them repeatedly with an electric prodder to get them into the chamber. The pigs, who can hear the screams of those already in the chamber, often try to jump out over the walls; they do not want to go inside.

The video was sent to one of the world's foremost experts on pig behaviour and physiology, Professor Donald Broom at the University of Cambridge, who produced this scathing report on the practices uncovered by the footage. This report and the footage have been handed in to NSW Police in the hopes of gaining a conviction against Rivalea.

However, it is important to note that this facility is not a "one-off". These gas chambers have been installed in roughly 15 Australian slaughterhouses including all of the largest, and hundreds of slaughterhouses all over the world (see the list here). The vast majority of pigs in Australia are killed in this way.

The Corowa Piggery is made up of 5 modules, each of which is essentially a large, self-contained farrow to finish piggery. Footage and photographs were obtained by anonymous activists inside 3 of the 5 modules, depicting industry-standard cruelty such as:

  • Cutting piglets' tails, teeth and ears at a few days of age without anaesthetic
  • Confining pregnant and lactacting sows to tiny cages in farrowing crates
  • Dead and dying piglets within farrowing crates
  • Sows with wounds and injuries including prolapsed vaginas

Corowa Piggery and Abattoir, NSW Corowa Abattoir, NSW

ABN Lookup

ABN 53 004 892 835 (open lookup)
Entity name RIVALEA (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD (from 01 July 2009)
QAF Meat Industries Pty Ltd from 17 June 2002 to 01 July 2009
QAF Meat Industries LtdLTD. from 12 June 2002 to 17 June 2002
BUNGE MEAT INDUSTRIES LTD. from 30 May 2000 to 12 June 2002
BUNGE MEAT INDUSTRIES LTD from 29 March 2000 to 30 May 2000
Business name St. Bernard's Free Range Pork
Riverview Farms (Australia)
Chewbies Pet Co.
BAXTERS PORK
ABN status Active from 29 March 2000
Entity type Australian Private Company
Goods & Services Tax (GST) Registered from 01 July 2000
Main business location NSW 2646 from 29 March 2000
ABN last updated 03 November 2022
Extracted from ABR 27 March 2024

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