News Feature: Animal Welfare Violations on UK "Mega Farm"

Cows have been suffering for the longest time in a “Mega Farm” in the UK. Filthy pens which have been the habitat for suffering and 'lame' cows as investigation expose this mega farm’s practices. The investigation took five months and has revealed how this farm has been abusing animal welfare rights just for the sake of a quick buck. The investigation conducted by the Animal Justice Project, a cruelty-free organization, has filmed Berryfields Farm in Northamptonshire from March to August 2020.

This investigation by AJP is groundbreaking since no one has ever filmed and documented such cruelty inside a mega farm. In the UK alone, around 50 - 60 percent of beef herds come from dairy cows because livestock is fattened in a “US-style feedlot” where livestock has no access to green pasture. In Berryfields alone, around 4500 cows are sent to slaughterhouses yearly. 

The investigation video shows abuse of animal welfare from all angles. Cows are beaten with pipes and kicked by workers; Tails twisted; Buckets thrown to their faces; Broken bones are not mended to heal but neglected. The investigation concluded “lameness” among animals because of excessively overgrown hooves, swollen limbs, and other abuses.

In an interview, Clair Palmer, founder of Animal Justice Project said, "Aside from the catastrophic impacts that these ‘mega farms’ have on the environment at a time when it’s widely recognized we are in a climate emergency, our groundbreaking investigation reveals a host of abuse and neglect for animals.”

Professor Andrew Knight, a veterinary specialist in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics, and Law added that it was disturbing to see how cattle lived on this farm. Another concerns the abuse of the animals by workers.” John Bell, the owner of the mega farm, has yet to comment.

Thanks to the initiative of the Animal Justice Project, we are one step closer to achieving a cruelty-free society.