Male piglets at the farm have their tails cut off and testicles ripped out by hand without anesthesia or pain relief, both standard practices in the industry. The investigator filmed employees tossing the testicles at each other and at a wall that was covered in them.

[–] Cyberwitch_7493@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 year ago

yeah, meat lover here, it's real fucked and completely legal.

These practices are all legal and widespread because lawmakers have made them so. The federal Animal Welfare Act excludes livestock from protection, while many state animal cruelty laws exempt “customary farming practices,” allowing the industry to define what’s customary. Big Ag is one of the more powerful lobbies in Washington.

In some states, it’s even illegal to conduct investigations like the one featured in this story. From the early 1990s to the early 2020s, a number of states passed “ag-gag” laws, which generally prohibit people from taking videos or photographs on farms without permission. Fortunately, most have been struck down as unconstitutional.

So... you're less likely to hear from "preachy vegans" (aka investigations into these abhorrent practices) in the future but no less likely to be eating meat that was fed poop. cooooool.

[–] max@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sadly this isn't just common in the bacon industry, similar abhorrent practises are common in literally every livestock sector. The workers develop a sort of disassociation and don't see them as animals anymore, or just straight up don't care.

[–] Vegoon@feddit.de 2 points 1 year ago

The workers develop a sort of disassociation and don’t see them as animals anymore, or just straight up don’t care.

Highest suicide rates worldwide.