News & Media: Rivalea investigation at Corowa abattoir
Rivalea investigation at Corowa abattoir
Disturbing footage has emerged, reportedly from Corowa's Rivalea abattoir, resulting in accusations of animal cruelty and an on-site investigation.
As a result of the Rivalea investigation into the filmed incidents, two employees were dismissed from the Corowa abattoir on Tuesday.
The shocking video footage was handed to animal rights activists and delivered to NSW Police.
The footage, filmed in secret, was taken over three days in February.
It shows several unidentified workers treating the pigs aggressively, including a clearly disabled pig being excessively kicked and poked with an electronic prod.
The video was handed to police by new animal rights organisation Aussie Farms after it was received by an anonymous source.
Rivalea, whose welfare policy is “Care for every pig, every day”, was shocked when notified of the incident and released a statement yesterday.
“Rivalea has launched an immediate investigation into the disturbing content of recent media reports,” the statement reads.
“The mistreatment of animals is not tolerated on any of our properties.
“We continually invest in animal welfare and are committed to achieving high standards of care for all our animals.
“Our staff community at Rivalea continually work to achieve these standards every day. We have also taken immediate steps to increase our vigilance over the monitoring of our welfare practices.”
Corowa Shire Mayor Fred Longmire was equally shocked when he was questioned about the incident.
“From my experiences with Rivalea and from what I have seen first-hand, Rivalea is traditionally very professional with their practice,” he said.
“This coming out has been a shock to a lot of people and I’m sure that any issues with the quality of this operation will be dealt with in due course.”
Chris Delforce, Operations Director of Aussie Farms, said he expected charges to be laid against the owner of the abattoir.
“Carbon dioxide gassing has been touted as the most humane method of slaughtering pigs,” he said.
“After seeing this footage I think it’s fair to say that there is no humane method of slaughtering pigs.”
