B.C. SPCA reopens case into Abbotsford hog farm cruelty allegations
Credit to Author: Postmedia News| Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2019 17:18:25 +0000
New hidden camera footage has prompted the B.C. SPCA to reopen its case into an Abbotsford hog farm where animal cruelty has been alleged.
SPCA spokeswoman Lorie Chortyk confirmed her organization had received new footage and that investigators had an open file looking into the alleged violations.
The new footage was submitted to the SPCA last week and posted to Vimeo over the weekend by an account under the name BC Pork Uncovered. The footage was filmed using hidden cameras by an undercover investigator who has been in touch with the SPCA to reveal their identity, according to a media release shared by local animal activist Amy Soranno.
The SPCA had previously said other footage showing apparent abuse at the farm was not time-stamped and geo-tagged with enough information to support charges.
In a statement accompanying the media release of the footage, animal cruelty lawyer Anna Pippus identified what she called “a number of clear Code of Practice violations, and other potential violations” pictured in the clip.
In the video, piglets can be seen being tossed, while pigs are pictured being herded with prods to the face. Pippus also highlighted what she believed were “very young children … who may not be sufficiently trained or mature to comply with Code requirements” handling pigs, as well as “husbandry procedures performed in street clothes without gloves, creating a risk of infection.”
The farm, identified as the family-owned Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford, had previously been the site of a police investigation after a pair of surveillance cameras were found to have been installed during a March break-in, without the owners’ knowledge.
In April, a number of protesters also occupied the farm as part of the Meat the Victims event.
Attempts are being made to seek comment from the owners of Excelsior through the B.C. Pork Producers Association.
More to come.