Agricultural News
Oklahoma Pork Council Releases Statement on Controversial Video Alledging Abuse on Oklahoma Hog Farm
Tue, 31 Jan 2017 19:38:30
Earlier on Tuesday, an animal rights activist group based on the West Coast released an undercover video made by an employee of a Maschoffs sow farm in Hinton, Oklahoma- showing what they claimed to be totally unacceptable practices involving the sows and their pigs. While the group claimed the selection of the farm was random, that appears to be a disingenuous claim, as the group knew that this operation supplied baby pigs to finishing facilities out of state that sell hogs ready for harvest to a processing firm that supplies pork to Hormel. The group directed a lot of its comments to Hormel, pressuring them to respond and demand an end to several practices they documented.
After the video was released, the owner/operator of the sow farm, The Maschoffs, released a statement as did Hormel. The trade group that represents Oklahoma pork producers and industry, the Oklahoma Pork Council, also issued the following statement about the claims of abuse of the hogs on the farm:
"The Oklahoma Pork Council and Oklahoma's hog farmers take seriously our ethical responsibility for the proper care of pigs. Responsible hog farmers condemn the mistreatment of any animal. The farm in question has launched an immediate investigation in response to the video. They will quickly address any deficiencies in animal care.
"There is always room for improvement. Many of the scenes depicted in the video are processes developed and implemented under veterinary supervision and are practices approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. Oklahoma's hog farmers recognize these scenes may be unfamiliar to those outside of livestock production and we remain committed to working with trained animal care specialists our veterinarians to improve our practices and provide the best possible care for our animals. "
More details about the video, audio comments from one of the staff members of the animal rights group and links back to the response by The Maschoffs are available by clicking here.
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