Undercover pig farm investigation in Colorado leads to 7 firings | Animals | Forums

Really wish we had enough space to raise our own meat for the business.

Five employees and two supervisors have been fired from a northeast Colorado pig farm after allegations of abuse that surfaced in a video filmed during an undercover investigation that showed animal mistreatment at the facility.

Seaboard Foods on Wednesday morning confirmed the firings, first reported by The Associated Press, and said its officials have launched an internal investigation into the reports.

The graphic video, filmed by Los Angeles-based Mercy for Animals and posted Tuesday on YouTube, shows pigs being beaten with cans and apparently injured by employees at the Phillips County facility.

"We identified instances that depict improper handling while loading pigs on trucks, which does not adhere to Seaboard Foods' training and best practices," Seaboard said in a statement released Wednesday. "As seen in the undercover video, the handling is unacceptable and inexcusable."

Phillips County Undersheriff Thomas Elliott said investigators completed their investigation and submitted the findings to the district attorney's office, which declined to file charges in the case.

Elliott said prosecutors determined the abuses weren't "to the point of filing criminal charges."

Seaboard said it launched its own investigation into the abuses after being contacted by the sheriff's office as it investigated the case. The apparent mistreatment happened at a Seaboard "finishing farm" in Holyoke, about 175 miles northeast of Denver.

The company says finishing farms are where pigs — some about 280 pounds apiece — head before slaughter. Seaboard operates nine such farms in Colorado.

"We've alerted our customers to this," company spokesman David Eaheart told The Denver Post on Wednesday.

Eaheart said Seaboard supplies pork products to retailers across the country.

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