Humane Society Claims Smithfield Abuses Pigs on Virginia Farm, Video Made of Undercover Operation

Smithfield Farms, the largest pork producer in the United States, has promised to investigate a farm in Virginia. ABC News reports a month-long investigation by the Humane Society of the United States into a farm in Waverly, Va. has shown video of...

December 16, 2010 | Source: Associated Content | by William Browning

Smithfield Farms, the largest pork producer in the United States, has promised to investigate a farm in Virginia. ABC News reports a month-long investigation by the Humane Society of the United States into a farm in Waverly, Va. has shown video of animal pens which are too cramped and ill pigs being mishandled. Some pictures show sows in gestation crates unable to move during the entire four months of their pregnancy. Others show a pig being shot and tossed in a pile of dead pigs while it is still living.

Smithfield promised to improve conditions for their animals, which is why this case is big news. The state of factory farming in America is getting more intense, a recent study shows.

Factory Farming Increases

A study published by Food & Water Watch in late November shows factory farms in the United States are getting bigger. Reuters reports the company analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and found the number of animals on factory farms has increased 20 percent from 2002 until 2007. The actual number of livestock on factory farms rose by 5 million animals in the same period.

The information covers cattle, hogs and chickens. The average size of factory farms increased 9 percent by cqamming even more animals into each farm. The largest increase came in dairy cows and broiler chickens.