January 25, 2007

Lawsuit against California pig producers
 

Animal rights activists have dragged one of California's largest pig farmers to court saying that the operation violates state law by keeping thousands of pregnant sows in cramped cages.

The Animal Legal Defence Fund, together with a group of advocates and residents filed a suit against CorcPork Inc, a pig farming company based in Kings County. Also named as a defendant was California's leading pork packer, Clougherty Packing, a Los Angeles-based subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corporation.

According to a 13-page complaint, roughly 9,000 of CorcPork's pregnant sows were crammed into small stalls on concrete floors amid their own feces without being able to take a step.

Steve Duchesne, a Clougherty Packing spokesman said the farm's husbandry practices have been scientifically proven to be effective and humane.

The complaint was the continuation of the seemingly endless attacks by extreme animal rights organisations against responsible livestock farmers, Duchesne said.

He said that small gestation stalls prevent pregnant sows from biting and scratching each other, and ensure proper nutrition and medical treatment and that the small farrowing stalls used during nursing deter sows from rolling over onto their piglets.