The footage shows pigs living alongside the decomposing bodies of dozens of dead pigs, with some becoming stuck in a giant pile of corpses.
Other footage from the same piggery shows pigs in 'eco sheds' on the property, which are sheds with two or three walls, with at least one side open to the elements. The pigs in these sheds are seen wading through mud and waste, which is often so deep that they are forced to swim. Some pigs had drowned in these sheds, likely after becoming stuck.
Pigs were filmed with massive, necrotic wounds where infection had eaten through skin down to the bone. One pig had a hole in their back that was roughly 10cm in diameter and packed with straw, mud and faeces. Piglets were also found living amongst the dead and rotting bodies of their littermates.
These visits took place over a month after this farm had been reported to the RSPCA by a member of the public, who was so horrified by the conditions that they knew they had to act.
Two days after RSPCA investigators attended Dublin piggery following a complaint made by Farm Transparency Project, civilian investigators returned to check conditions. Despite a statement from the RSPCA saying that 'immediate welfare concerns had been addressed' pigs were still found in awful conditions.
One small piglet was discovered with an ear so swollen and misshapen that it dragged their whole head to the side. The investigators were only able to visit a small number of sheds that night but they still found pigs living in filth and with serious injuries.
We can’t trust the authorities to shut this place down, it’s up to us.
