The BBC has taken down a widely viewed podcast clip that wrongly suggested British pig farms now run herds of 100,000 animals, after the National Pig Association lodged a formal complaint over what it called a serious misrepresentation of the industry.
The claim appeared on Radio 4’s Radical podcast with Amol Rajan, in which farmer and author James Rebanks said there were “four or five pig farms in Britain producing 90% of our stuff,” adding that “100,000 pigs isn’t a big farm anymore.”
He went on to suggest during the 24 November interview that producers were “not in the game” without herds of that scale, describing it as “a huge industrial enterprise.”
In reality, the UK pig sector is dominated by small and medium-sized family farms, with herd sizes far below the industrial-scale models seen in other countries.
Production is spread across thousands of holdings, rather than concentrated in a handful of mega-farms, and operates within some of the strictest welfare and environmental regulations in Europe.
The clip was viewed hundreds of thousands of times before being removed. After being contacted by pig sector representatives, Mr Rebanks accepted he had made an error, stressing that he “wasn’t trying to denigrate pig farmers” or “mislead”. He said he had used the word “farms” when he meant “producer/processors”, adding: “I’m sorry.”
In its complaint to the corporation, the NPA said the comments were inaccurate and risked misleading the public about how the UK pig sector actually operates. The association argued that such misconceptions can distort debates on welfare, food standards and environmental impact — with knock-on effects for public trust in British farming.
Public affairs manager Tom Haynes said it was “simply erroneous to suggest there are any farms in the UK anywhere close to having 100,000s of pigs on them.” He cited government figures showing that the average UK pig farm holds 476 animals, rising to 938 when holdings of fewer than 10 pigs are excluded.
The association also highlighted that both pig and poultry farms are tightly regulated, with sites housing more than 2,000 production pigs or 750 sow places requiring an environmental permit from the Environment Agency.
Mr Haynes said the BBC’s decision to clip and promote the disputed section of the podcast was “an active choice” that amplified the inaccuracies further. The broadcaster has since removed the clip from its platforms.
