Following allegations of cruelty, made by the campaigning company Animal Aid, against 10 English pig farms audits have shown that the allegations of cruelty and malpractice farms were unfounded.
Independent assessors The audits, conducted by assessors from one of three independent certification bodies, took place on 19, 20 and 23 June, and concluded that six of the 10 farms were passed as being in complete compliance with assurance standards.
One farm had a minor non-conformance for records management. Two farms had minor non-conformances relating to general wear and tear of buildings and equipment. These non-conformances have been rectified and the units passed.
The remaining farm had no pigs at the time of the independent audit, having taken the decision to wind down production prior to the covert filming, due to economic pressures on the industry.
Assurance standards The farm assurance standards, assured pigs and genesisqa cover more than 100 requirements that assured producers must comply with.