Animal Justice Project today releases disturbing new footage in the Independent exposing piglets being violently killed through blunt force trauma — a practice known as piglet ‘thumping,’ banned for years under UK law and opposed by the overwhelming majority of the public according to a new YouGov survey — at a Cranswick plc-owned farm in Lincolnshire, certified by Red Tractor.

This is the third Cranswick farm in North Lincolnshire where serious concerns have been documented this year. In May 2025, investigators recorded piglet ‘thumping’ at Northmoor Farm in Market Rasen, followed by evidence of cannibalism among pigs at Somerby Top Farm in Barnetby. The latest footage from Mere Farm in Barton-upon-Humber shows further incidents of piglet ‘thumping.’

Some of the disturbing covert filming of piglet ‘thumping’ at Mere Farm was carried out just one day and then two days after Cranswick announced at its AGM on 28 July 2025 it had banned piglet thumping across all of its farms, and two months after the company was revealed to be piglet thumping in the Mail On Sunday.

A spokesperson from Cranswick told us “We are deeply disappointed and frustrated by the covert footage captured on one of our farms. The behaviour depicted is wholly unacceptable and clearly breaches the values, standards and animal welfare practices that we uphold across our business.
“Much of the material appears to pre-date the significant reforms we have been implementing — including the complete overhaul of our livestock handling policies and extensive, independently-led retraining for our employees.
“We are continuously working on improving our on-farm standards and culture, whilst investing in cutting edge surveillance technology. This programme is ongoing and subject to continuous review and improvement.
“Despite these efforts, it is clear that a small number of individuals have failed to follow our strict animal welfare protocols, even after retraining. This constitutes a serious breach of our standards.
“As a result, those individuals have been immediately dismissed and we will cooperate fully with the relevant authorities to support further investigations”.

The Minister of State for DEFRA stated in Parliament on 30 June 2025 that “piglet thumping is not a permitted method for stunning or killing piglets”. Animal Justice Project is now calling on Angela Eagle MP, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, to remove Cranswick’s Non-Executive Chairman, Tim Smith, from his positions on the Food Strategy Advisory Board — which he joined in March 2025 “to advise the Government on a national food strategy and restore pride in British food” — and as Co-Chair of the Food and Drink Sector Council.