• Pigs biting at the flesh of dead companions

• The decomposing body of a piglet, left to rot amongst its other
  pen mates

• Sick pigs with open weeping sores

• Dying pigs

• Bins overflowing with dead pigs

• Rat infestation

• Fly infestation

Pig in crate, Ormiston Farm

During investigations last year, Advocates for Animals had exposed similar conditions on two of the same Scotpigs' farms - Ormiston Farm and Muir of Pert.  As a result at least one of them, Ormiston Farm, lost its Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) assurance scheme accreditation. The assurance scheme claims to guarantee "good welfare practices" and is endorsed by the Scottish SPCA.  Both the State Veterinary Service and Scottish SPCA had made assurances that the farms would now be closely monitored and conditions
improved. This latest investigation shows that little or nothing has
improved since then.

Ormiston Farm

The State Veterinary Officers at the relevant Animal Health Offices and the Scottish SPCA were informed the day before the release of the video about the investigators' findings. Since then, whether by coincidence or not, information has come out from QMS that all Scotpigs farms have now had their QMS accreditations removed.

One of the investigators said,  “I've been on many pig farms in the UK but these were the worst I've seen. The stench on the farms was overpowering and we saw a seething mass of rats running in and out of the sheds. Some of the buildings were dilapidated, falling apart and on the point of collapse. If a pig can be allowed to lie there rotting, one has to wonder what else can go unnoticed?”
 

Dead rat lies beside a pig, Ormiston Farm

Advocates for Animals' Campaigns Director, Ross Minett, said,
”We have investigated Scotland's pig industry again and yet again we have found a disgusting situation. We found sick pigs with open weeping sores, dying pigs, piglets pulling at the flesh of dead pigs, a rotting piglet, bins overflowing with dead pigs, fly infestations, dead rats and rats running all over the place.

”These intelligent and sentient animals are being kept in terrible
conditions.  Crammed into barren pens with little or no bedding and forced to live in their own excrement.  I am sure that people will be disgusted to see how pigs are treated behind the closed doors of Scotland's factory farms. Sadly these kinds of conditions appear to be the norm - this is the shameful reality of modern intensive pig farming in Scotland. And we call ourselves a nation of animal lovers.

”This was our third visit to one of these farms. Yet nothing has changed.  We have been assured time and again by the State Veterinary Service and the Scottish SPCA that these farms were being monitored.  What on earth do we have to do to get action taken to protect pigs in this country?

”This situation must not be allowed to continue any longer.  How many more farms do we need to expose before action will be taken?  The Scottish Executive must start taking the welfare of farmed animals seriously and stop turning a deaf ear to our pleas for action."

Ormiston

All photographs copyright Advocates for Animals 2003

Advocates for Animals

March 15 2004  Scotpigs Ltd Has Gone Into Liquidation!

Adovocates for Animals spokesperson Yvonne Taylor said, "Whilst Advocates for Animals welcomes the news that Scotpigs is closing, it is a shocking indictment on our legislation that Scotpigs is being closed purely on financial grounds.

"Our video evidence showed these intelligent and sentient animals being kept in horrendous conditions - crammed into barren pens with little or no bedding and forced to live in their own excrement. We found sick pigs with open weeping sores, dying pigs, piglets pulling at the flesh of dead pigs, a rotting piglet, bins overflowing with dead pigs, fly infestations, dead rats and rats running all over the place. This alone surely should have been enough to immediately close Scotpigs farms.  Sadly these kinds of conditions appear to be accepted as the norm - this is the shameful reality of intensive pig farming in Scotland."