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All major pig slaughterhouses in Australia now use carbon dioxide gas chambers as a means of rendering pigs unconscious before cutting their throats. Referred to by the industry as "controlled atmosphere stunning" or "controlled atmosphere killing", the process involves forcing pigs into gondola cages which are then lowered into the pit of the chamber, where high concentrations of the excruciating toxic gas cause them to suffocate.
When we first exposed the use of these chambers at Australia's largest pig slaughterhouse back in 2014, it was the first time in the world that the supposedly "humane" system had been captured on camera. Consumers were being told that the pigs just gently fall asleep - but the footage revealed something very different. In the 9 years since, despite the emergence of even more footage and the obvious extreme cruelty, it's managed to remain the pork industry's best-kept secret.
We knew we needed to take drastic measures to force the issue into mainstream attention and prevent it being swept under the rug once more. So this time, we hid an investigator inside the top of one of these chambers overnight with a professional camera, to capture the brutality like never before.
On January 27, 2023, Farm Transparency Project's founding director, Chris Delforce, spent over 9 hours hidden above the gas chamber at the Australian Food Group (AFG) slaughterhouse in Melbourne's west, witnessing first-hand the absolute horror faced by millions of pigs every year in Australia. After the day's killing had finished and the staff went on break, investigators Harley and Cat guided Chris with an aerial drone as he climbed out of the chamber and snuck out of the facility wearing high-vis clothing.
Meanwhile, the team planted high-resolution hidden cameras inside the chambers at Victoria's two other largest slaughterhouses - Diamond Valley Pork, just down the road from AFG in Laverton, and Benalla in the state's north. Diamond Valley Pork kills up to 1 million pigs per year, around 20% of the national total, having upgraded a few years earlier to an enormous "Butina Backloader" chamber capable of fitting up to three times as many pigs per gondola compared to the previous design.
When returning to retrieve the hidden cameras at Benalla, the gondolas had rotated to lower positions in the chamber, requiring our team to climb down into the gas. Immediately, we felt our eyes burning, and panic set in. Any breath we tried to take was like breathing in fire, and several times we had to frantically climb back out, shaking and gasping for air.
"I have seen animals killed right in front of my eyes. I have seen workers kicking piglets around like footballs and animals screaming in pain, pleading with their eyes for help. I have had to walk away from so many suffering animals, knowing that the best thing I can do for them and all the others I couldn't save was to keep trying to tell their story... but this is the most horrible thing I have ever seen." - Chris Delforce
Our footage shows that, despite what the pork industry tells consumers, pigs suffer and die in agony inside these gas chambers. We saw pigs writhing and gasping for air, screaming in fear and pain, frantically looking around for a way out of the cage. At AFG, many pigs locked eyes with Chris as he sat hidden just metres above them, and he had to watch as they slowly suffocated, knowing that the best way he could help them was to get out safely and make sure their stories reached as many people as possible.
Workers are seen using paddles, prodders and even boots to force pigs into the chamber, sometimes over the bodies of other pigs who had become stuck as they thrashed around desperately. Over a few harrowing minutes, pigs go from being curious, scared, thinking, feeling individuals with a desire to live, to being nothing more than a body, a number, a price tag.
These are not isolated incidents, these are not "rogue operators". The breeding, confinement and slaughter of innocent, sentient individuals is inherently cruel and violent. It can never be humane. If these were dogs or cats, it would be illegal - but pigs and other farmed animals are exempt from protection in Victoria and other states' animal welfare laws.
It's time for that to change.
You can learn more about the reality of Australian pig farming via our online knowledgebase.
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Workers using the bodies of sheep and pigs as punching bags, hitting them as they hang suspended on the shackle line, or as they are pulled onto the kill table to have their throat slit. Pigs screaming as their heads are clamped in electrified paddles, some left stunned but conscious for minutes as they blink and look around in terror. Sheep and goats stabbed in the head over and over again as they thrash and try desperately to run backwards on the moving conveyor belt, forcing them towards their deaths. Cows trying to stand after being shot in the head multiple times, then dying in agony as they bleed out on the kill room floor. Our investigations have revealed horrific suffering in slaughterhouses across Australia proving without a doubt that slaughter can never be humane. Show your support for a slaughter free food system by signing our petition today.
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Media release: Monday 26 May 2025
Farm Transparency Project has published hidden camera footage captured late last year at the Cowra slaughterhouse in NSW The footage reveals workers throwing, kicking, smacking and aggressively electrocuting animals to move them to the kill floor, where many are then ineffectively 'stunned' and killed while conscious This is the 30th slaughterhouse investigated and exposed by the group across NSW, VIC, QLD, TAS and SA in the last two years, completing a pledge made in mid 2023 Farm Transparency Project (FTP) has completed its pledge to investigate and expose 30 slaughterhouses across Australia over two years, with Cowra Meat Processors in central...
Media release: Thursday 24 Oct 2024
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Cassy O’Connor and Abigail Boyd join state MPs to call for independent oversight of Australian slaughterhouses Farm Transparency Project, who wrote the letter, says that the government has failed to appropriately investigate hundreds of cases of alleged animal cruelty. The organisation is accusing the government department of corruption, claiming that their actions have raised doubts about their integrity and suitability to monitor and regulate animal welfare. Read the open letter View photos and footage An open letter, signed by a senator, several state MPs and animal protection organisations, is calling on the Prime Minister's office...
Media release: Thursday 24 Oct 2024
Dear Mr Albanese, I am writing on behalf of Farm Transparency Project, a non-profit animal protection organisation focused on raising public awareness about commercial animal farming and slaughter practices through comprehensive investigations into Australian animal use facilities. Over the past decade, our organisation has investigated a number of facilities and practices, catalysing significant animal welfare reforms. In recent years, this has included: Publishing footage of the foothold trapping and killing of native dingoes in Victoria by government contractors, stimulating debate and likely contributing to the Victorian government ending the practice in parts of the state. Investigating the failed phase-out of...
Media release: Friday 10 Nov 2023
15 animal activists have been charged with trespass, seven months after they occupied a Benalla slaughterhouse in a protest against the use of gas chambers in pig slaughterhouses. The protest, which happened on April 13th, was in response to an investigation of three Victorian pig slaughterhouses, which revealed pigs screaming, thrashing and gasping for air inside carbon dioxide gas chambers. Seven protestors were arrested and charged on the day, while the remaining 15 were allowed to leave voluntarily, after chains and other devices they were using to lock-on were removed by police. 15 animal rights protestors have been charged with trespass after shutting...
Media release: Wednesday 12 Jul 2023
Animal cruelty investigators have used hidden cameras to capture new footage inside a South Australian pig slaughterhouse’s gas chamber, which shows pigs screaming, thrashing and trying to escape while slowly suffocating to death. Farm Transparency Project has captured hundreds of hours of footage from four slaughterhouse gas chambers, across two states, over the past six months. Its investigators say they have not once seen pigs die without terror, pain and frantic attempts to escape. The organisation is calling for a national inquiry into pig slaughter methods, claiming that Australian animal confinement and slaughter is “inherently violent and cruel." Farm...
Tuesday 10 Jun 2025 by
Activists covertly film at NSW abattoirs, igniting debates on animal welfare and transparency. New laws may change the industry landscape.
Sunday 20 Oct 2024 by
The widespread use of “gas chambers” to render pigs unconscious before their slaughter is under a cloud.
Thursday 20 Jun 2024 by
Victoria’s pork industry could be slapped with “extreme” new guidelines and subject to random on-the-spot compliance checks, but Coalition MPs have called the inquiry process a “political stunt”.
Thursday 20 Jun 2024 by
Animal Justice Party, Green and Victorian Labor MPs have demanded radical animal welfare reforms, as part of a pig welfare inquiry.
Thursday 20 Jun 2024 by
State opposition says the inquiry’s 18 recommendations include ‘extreme restrictions’ that should concern all primary producers
Tuesday 18 Jul 2023 by
In June 2023 we investigated BMK Foods Slaughterhouse in Murray Bridge, South Australia, and captured footage inside their gas chamber. We met pigs hours before they were brutally killed and we were reminded, once again, that not one of them goes to their deaths willingly.
Saturday 15 Apr 2023 by
On April 13th 2023 25 activists from Farm Transparency Project shutdown Benalla slaughterhouse for over 7 hours. We chained ourselves inside the gas chamber and race, preventing any pigs from being killed while we were there. More of us occupied the roof and remained up there for almost 12 hours before leaving voluntarily. Executive...
Monday 27 Mar 2023 by
In early 2023, our investigators captured footage from inside Victoria's three largest pig slaughterhouses, revealing the terrifying final moments of pigs subjected to deadly gas chambers. This is the story of how we did it and why we won't stop.
Monday 4 Mar 2024 by
We met Maisie in the holding pens at Benalla slaughterhouse. Out of the dozens of pigs and piglets crowded together in the mud and filth, Maisie stood out because of her distinctive markings, which looked like someone had drawn a line down her middle and painted one half pink and...
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