Undercover animal rights activists video tape horrific abuse of piglets that were kicked, thrown and shaken at Tyson farm

The abuse occurred at West Coast Farms between September and October

Tyson contracted the farm to supply pork

That contract was terminated when the footage was made public

Shocking footage has emerged of the horrific abuse of pigs at a farm that until recently provided pork to the largest meat producer in the United States.

The appalling video was shot at West Coast Farms between September and October by an activist with Mercy for Animals and shows pigs being punched, kicked, smashed into concrete and locked in cages so small they can’t even move.

West Coast Farms, in Oklahoma, supplied meat for Tyson, according to Mercy for Animals. Tyson severed all ties after the video was made public.

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Horrible: This man violently shakes an innocent piglet

Pregnant and abused: This pig is too fat to move, so workers kick it down the walkway

‘We’re extremely disappointed by the mistreatment shown in the video and will not tolerate this kind of animal mishandling,’ a Tyson spokesperson told The Daily Dot.

‘We are immediately terminating our contract with this farmer and will take possession of the animals remaining on the farm,’ he added.

Farm owner Lonnie Herring reportedly fired all employees involved in the video, but their faces were often obscured from sight.

The disturbing footage begins with a montage of animals being hit with wooden boards, kicked, beaten and lying in pools of blood or locked in cages.

The deplorable physical abuse didn’t just stop at kicking and punching the defenseless pigs.

Piglets also endured being violently shaken, thrown through the air only to be spiked on to the concrete floor like footballs or even held by the tail and swung repeatedly into the floor.

No anesthesia provided: Piglets have their tails cut and testicles removed without the benefit of any medication to dull the pain



Appaling: This worker sits on the pig, repeatedly punching it

No big deal: A former hog farm worker commented on Reddit that the pigs don't even feel the punches

Despicable: This piglet is kicked by an out-of-control farmhand

Over the top: It is not uncommon for animals to be hit, the former farmhand said, but it usually never approaches this level of violence

A walkway is shown with several bloody piglets on the ground having seizures or writhing in agony, blood is splattered everywhere.

Multiple piglets have their tails removed either with a shovel swung violently down on the tail, severing it, or with a pair of shears – no painkillers are administered.

Another unfortunate piglet is also shown being held by their hind legs and having their testicles removed, again without painkillers or anesthesia.

The suffering causes it to let out a loud squeal and violently shake.

A pregnant pig too fat to move is kicked, punched and has clumps of hair ripped out.

Horrifying: This pig is still alive, but has begun to rot after being tossed on a pile of other dead pigs

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This is not right: Piglets writhe in agony after being slammed onto the concrete floor, some have seizures

Not uncommon, but being done wrong: Ill or infirm piglets are often slammed into the ground to instantly kill them, according to a former pig farm employee

One pig had a bowling ball thrown at its head, other had their eyes gouged out or their ears violently pulled.

Pigs barely clinging to life are tossed in piles of dead pigs, they start to rot even though they are still living.

A Reddit user who once worked on a hog farm commenting that the abuse shown in the video is far from uncommon, but that this farm took it too far.

‘Piglets are killed by having their heads smashed against the concrete because it’s quick and if done properly (which those guys aren’t doing) the piglets are dead before they even know what happened,’ said legless_kraig.

Close quarters: Pregnant pigs are kept in tightly-packed pens that provide no room to move

Waiting to die: The miserable pigs have nothing to live for, they are stripped of their dignity several times a day

Dead inside: The sad images show pigs suffering from depression, malnourishment and a host of other issues

‘Pulling by the ears to get them to move somewhere specific was common and kicking in the back end was too but realistically the pigs feel nothing from the kicking,’ he continued.

‘Gouging of the eyes was something that was done to the adult pigs when they weren't moving down the aisles or being stubborn and hard to handle,’ the Redditor further explained.

The pigs are miserable. They are mistreated, malnourished and then sent to slaughter – if they endure the torture long enough to be that lucky.

Most of the employees are miserable too, legless_kraig wrote.