Pig farm investigation in Argentina uncovers mutilated piglets and mass grave

• Animal Equality has released its second investigation into Argentina’s factory farming industry, this time on two Buenos Aires pig farms.
• Investigators found piglets’ teeth and tails cut without anesthesia. Males were castrated without veterinary oversight. 
• Mother pigs were confined in cages so small they could not turn around for months. Nearby, dead pigs were left in cages for days.
• Animal Equality has filed a formal complaint with Argentine authorities, citing likely violations of national regulations.
• Officials have confirmed the complaint is under review.

Piglets scream as their teeth are painfully ground down. Mother pigs slam their heads against metal bars. Dead bodies rot inside cages.

Investigators filmed these scenes at two pig farms in Buenos Aires Province. The footage comes just months after Animal Equality released its first investigation in Argentina.

Animal Equality has filed a formal complaint with Argentine authorities. But as officials review the evidence, experts say the footage is a warning sign.

Animal cruelty is built into the system, and enforcement often comes too late.

Rotting carcasses and a mass grave

Investigators filmed pigs with open wounds on their faces, teats, and bodies, many of which were infested with flies. No veterinary care was provided.

Some pigs were found dead inside cages, with live animals confined beside them. Other bodies were left near the doorways.

At one farm, workers dragged carcasses across the site and dumped them into a ditch used as a mass grave.

Piglets mutilated without anesthesia

On both farms, workers cut piglets’ tails and castrated males without anesthesia. Investigators also documented teeth-clipping, an industry practice used to reduce biting in crowded conditions.

These procedures can cause severe pain and infection. The footage shows workers lifting piglets upside down by one leg while clipping their teeth. The piglets twist and arch their backs as they scream.

Afterward, some piglets tremble. Others struggle to stand or nurse.

Argentine guidelines say mutilations should be limited, carried out only at very young ages, and with veterinary oversight. 

Investigators recorded them as routine. In many cases, piglets appeared older than the legal age limit. Veterinarians were nowhere to be found. 

Mothers in metal cages

For most of their adult lives, female pigs are confined to narrow metal cages during pregnancy and nursing. For months at a time, they’re unable to turn around or take more than a step forward. 

Investigators filmed pigs with their sides, genitals, and rectums pressed against metal bars, leaving open wounds. 

Other footage shows repetitive behaviours often associated with extreme distress. Some pigs bite the bars. Others bang their heads or move their mouths as if chewing the air.

A continuous breeding cycle

Animal Equality documented the forced impregnation of female pigs, trapping them in a cycle of breeding, cages, and birth. 

Many are pushed to give birth up to three times per year. When their bodies wear down and produce fewer piglets, they are loaded onto trucks and sent to slaughter.

Is factory farm cruelty against the law?

Investigators say many of these practices likely violate Argentine regulations. 

Animal Equality has submitted the evidence to authorities, who have confirmed they are reviewing the case. Animal Equality urges officials to inspect the farms, penalise violations, and strengthen enforcement of existing laws.

How many pigs are slaughtered on factory farms?

More than eight million pigs are slaughtered in Argentina each year, with exports on the rise. For example, China has nearly quadrupled its pig meat imports from Argentina since 2023.

The growth of the sector cannot be measured only in tonnes, it must also be measured in suffering.

—Dulce Ramírez, Vice-President of Animal Equality for Latin America

Experts warn the findings in Buenos Aires reflect a broader pattern. Animal Equality has documented similarly cruel practices in the UK too and also very poor law enforcement, with fewer than 3% of farms receiving a Government inspection each year.

VIEW THE FULL INVESTIGATION LIBRARY

How to stop illegal animal cruelty

While we fight to end factory farming entirely, we must help those trapped in this cruel system. 

Add your name to our petition, calling for companies to be held accountable for their crimes.

Over an 11 year period, Animal Equality UK has investigated 50 farms and slaughterhouses, finding prolonged animal suffering, deliberate abuse or neglect, and/or illegality taking place every single time. Animal Equality’s evidentiary footage, spanning over a decade, is a growing indictment of this failing industry.

The Government must work with Animal Equality to put in place critical changes to the legal framework, including the following:

• Implement a licensing system for farms;
• Breaches of licences will result in non renewal and prosecution;
• Inspections required for licence renewal which will be at least every 1-3 years, depending on the farm’s size;
• Those inspections must be robust and occasionally unannounced;
• Appropriate penalties for all farms found not complying with their licences and the law.

Laws are broken time and time again. On every pig farm Animal Equality UK has ever visited pigs have been routinely tail-docked; over a six year period we visited four dairy farms and on each we found severe animal suffering and illegality; and in a sheep slaughterhouse we discovered a Food Standards Agency inspector giving their nod of approval for clear non-compliance. Our investigators have looked into facilities accredited by Red Tractor, Quality Meat Scotland, Best Aquaculture Practices, The Soil Association and more, documenting illegality across the board.

This doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. With over 300,000 facilities in the UK, it is not possible for Animal Equality to visit every single facility. How many animals will suffer the same cruelty behind closed doors?

The public puts its faith in accreditation schemes, awards and Government and local authorities, but consumers are being conned.

Public body inspections are few and far between. With fewer than 3% of farms being inspected each year, crimes to farmed animals are rarely detected.

Non-compliance is rife. Where inspections do occur, 31% identify non-compliance with animal welfare regulations and inspectors directly observe animals suffering ‘unnecessarily’ in one in 30 visits to uncertified farms.

Consequences are all but non-existent. When wrongdoing is detected it is too often left to the charities to apply the necessary pressure and ensure action is taken. Between 2017-2019 there were 80 convictions of cruelty to farmed animals under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, compared to 2,662 for dogs. Considering that over one billion animals are farmed and slaughtered each year in the UK, this number of convictions is extremely low. This lack of action is failing to disincentivise legal violations on farms.

The Government and local authorities must end their overreliance on charities, take ownership, and hold animal abusers accountable for their actions. The current regulatory framework is a wholly inadequate safeguard to ensure legal compliance. It is simply not fit for purpose. Already vulnerable farmed animals are being left at the whims of an industry that wants only to commoditise them.

We, the undersigned, are calling for improved monitoring and enforcement of existing animal welfare laws and for increased legal protections to be put in place for farmed land and aquatic animals.

Thank you for signing this important petition.

Before you go, remember that we are up against a huge, multi-million-pound industry. That is why one powerful way to ensure we can continue this difficult fight is by making a donation.

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Abigail Penny

Executive Director Animal Equality UK

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