Cranswick has suspended operations at its North Moor Farm in Lincolnshire after undercover footage allegedly showing illegal practices and poor animal welfare was made public.
The findings depict disturbing scenes including “piglet thumping” – a banned method of euthanasia – as well as botched shootings and animals left in poor living conditions.
The footage, released by Animal Justice Project, was reportedly captured in 2024 by an undercover investigator over several weeks.
The activist group said the footage was filmed at a farm run by Elsham Linc Ltd, owned by meat processor Cranswick, which supplies Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
It goes on to claim that all these retailers have now suspended supplies from the farm in response to the findings.
A Cranswick spokesperson confirmed immediate action: “The welfare of the animals we rear is of the utmost importance and we are extremely disappointed to see the unacceptable lapse of welfare standards captured at North Moor Farm.
“As soon as we saw the footage, we immediately suspended the team working at the farm and we are conducting an urgent and thorough investigation.
"We have also suspended the farm from supplying any pigs until the investigation is completed.”
North Moor Farm houses approximately 6,000 pigs, while Cranswick processes over 34,000 pigs each week across its operations.
Sainsbury’s, which recently signed a 10-year partnership with Cranswick to supply its British pork products, said the allegations involved "unacceptable treatment of animals, which has no place in our supply chain".
"We are urgently investigating this with Cranswick and in the meantime, all supply from this farm has been suspended.”
A Morrisons spokesperson added: “We care deeply about animal welfare and these are shocking and concerning allegations.
“We understand that Cranswick are investigating urgently and we have suspended supply from this farm until further notice.”
