News & Media: Chris Delforce's Lucent reveals horrific conditions Australian pigs endure
Chris Delforce's Lucent reveals horrific conditions Australian pigs endure
Beaten with metal rods, kept in cramped cages and gassed before being slaughtered: Undercover film reveals horrific conditions Australian pigs are forced to endure
- Animal activist Chris Delforce has produced documentary called Lucent
- Film allegedly shows footage taken from inside 50 locations in Australia
- Scenes include pigs sleeping in own waste and buckets of stillborn piglets
- But Australian Pork Limited said Lucent was not representative of industry
- A spokeswoman said it was trying to stop pig farming not animal cruelty
A new documentary vows to expose the dark underbelly of pig farming and allegedly contains video of pigs sleeping in their own urine, buckets of stillborn piglets and the bashing of animals with metal rods.
Animal rights activist Chris Delforce has put together a documentary called Lucent which contains footage taken from inside 50 Australian piggeries and slaughterhouses.
But Australia's peak body representing pig farmers said the film was not representative of what was happening in the industry.
A spokesperson for the Australian Pork Network told Daily Mail Australia 'the footage does not represent Australian pork producers in a fair and equitable light. It is skewed to totally misrepresent the industry'.
A new documentary allegedly shows the mistreatment of pigs inside farms and slaughterhouses
The disturbing footage allegedly includes the confinement of pigs in cramped cages, mutilation of piglets such as cutting notches into their ears and cutting off their tails, and castration - all without the use of pain relief.
'They're confined in filthy conditions where pigs are forced to sleep in their own urine and waste,' Mr Delforce told Daily Mail Australia.
'For the sows, it's a cycle of getting impregnated, moved into sow stalls then crates where they give birth, then their piglets are taken away and they are impregnated again.
'A few cycles of that and the mortality rate increase for piglets – not always – but after two or three years they're replaced with younger pigs and sent off to be slaughtered.
'The mechanical way they are treated as units of productions is inhumane.'
The activist said he wanted to make Lucent to ensure people made informed decisions about what they were buying in the supermarket.
'I would love for people to open their eyes and a lot of this unknown to a lot of people,' he said.
Animal rights activist Chris Delforce compiled the documentary, Lucent, from footage he received from across Australia
He said he had received video from 50 different locations. It is claimed this pig was from Springview Piggery in NSW where the sow is believed to have been gnawing at its front paws after getting paralysis in its back legs
'People who buy pig products don't know what's involved in bringing it into the supermarket.
'I want people to see what is happening so they can make an informed decision about what they're buying.'
Mr Delforce also slammed the use of carbon dioxide chambers to render beasts unconscious before they are slaughtered.
'It's touted as the most humane method...but in footage we've received, the pigs are seen thrashing and squealing for 30 seconds,' he said.
'It's quite distressing and that's how most pigs are being stunned before they are killed.'
It has been claimed this pig living inside the Dead Horse Gully piggery had its tail cut off at Golden Grove piggery across the road
Mr Delforce said the way sows were treated as 'units of productions' was inhumane
Mr Delforce said he also saw footage of people 'bashing' pigs with metal rods in a NSW slaughterhouse after the stunning process did not work properly.
The activist said it was not his place to suggest a better way of slaughtering animals because he did not believe in the practice.
'It's talking about better ways to do the wrong thing,' he said.
But a spokeswoman for Australian Pork Limited questioned the intentions behind Mr Delforce's documentary.
She said the footage was only designed for shock value and was not about exposing animal cruelty.
Lucent aims to help people make more 'informed decisions' when buying pork products in the supermarket
But Australian Pork Limited said the footage was not representative of normal practices within the industry
A spokeswoman for the organisation said the documentary was being used as a tool of 'shock' than a piece on animal rights
'This [footage] is not normal practice for Australian pig farmers and the animal activist's desire is bring to a halt intensive animal farming for human consumption,' the spokeswoman said.
'It's not about welfare. If it was about genuine welfare of animals, film footage would not have been sat on for months - up to a year in one case - and reported immediately to the relevant authorities if it was of concern.
'The Australian Pork Industry is always reflective of how they can better connect with consumers.
'An example of this is the voluntary phase-out of sow stalls of which the industry is over 65% of the way there - this is a world first.
'If these activists were genuine in their desire for better welfare, they would work closer with this industry shoulder-to-shoulder.'
Sow stalls are used for intensive pig farming where female pigs are kept in metal enclosures during pregnancy.
In response to Mr Delforce's claims that the footage was taken from more than 50 farms across Australia, the APL Network told Daily Mail Australia that one producer is currently before the courts after footage from his farm was released in August, 2012.
Other producers have been independently inspected by appropriate authorities with the legislative power relating to animal welfare law (RSPCA, State DPI and in some cases by the police/stock squad) and have been cleared of any violations of animal welfare law.
Lucent is showing in select cinemas around the country from October 17 to November 23.
