Dear members of Congress:
I find the animal cruelty exposed in the undercover investigation carried out by Animal Outlook at Holden Farms to be indefensible. Allegations include the following:
Mother pigs were routinely kicked and beaten. Piglets fell through holes in their crates and died in pits of feces, urine and the decaying corpses of other piglets. Mother pigs were fed dead piglet intestines, bodily fluids and pig feces. Numerous pigs had severe prolapses where their intestines spilled out of their bodies. Piglets tried to nurse from their dead mother who suffered a prolapse that spilled out of her crate. Male piglets’ testicles were ripped off, and their tails were bitten off by workers.
It’s unconscionable that the facility engaged in such abuse and received federal funding. The industrial animal agriculture industry must be held accountable for abusing animals, breaking the law and putting the public at risk through their inhumane and unsafe breeding, slaughtering and other practices. I stand with the Animal Legal Defense Fund to ensure that Holden Farms is brought to justice, and I’m calling on you to do everything in your power to end factory farm abuses nationwide.
