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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: 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...
Media release: Monday 10 Jul 2023
Animal advocate Chris Delforce has today announced that his organisation, Farm Transparency Project, plans to break into 30 slaughterhouses over the next two years, to capture and expose footage of Australian animal slaughter to the public. Delforce, who earlier this year shared groundbreaking new footage of pigs being gassed to death in Victorian slaughterhouses after hiding in a gas chamber, stated that his organisation has already investigated six slaughterhouses this year, and will be releasing a new investigation this week. Footage from three new Australian slaughterhouses is promised over the next few weeks, with Delforce sharing that Farm Transparency Project has...
Media release: Saturday 17 Jun 2023
Campaigners held an early-morning vigil outside Diamond Valley Pork while pigs were being killed in the gas chamber inside They followed this with an evening memorial in Melbourne CBD where they lay to rest the bodies of three piglets who they say represent the millions of pigs killed in Australian slaughterhouses every year The protests were part of a national weekend of action calling for a federal inquiry into pig slaughter methods and a ban on the use of gas chambers in Australian slaughterhouses Animal rights campaigners from Farm Transparency Project have organised a candlelight slaughterhouse vigil and city memorial...
Media release: Thursday 25 May 2023
A Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into pig welfare has been announced less than two months after investigators from Farm Transparency Project released shocking footage of pigs being gassed to death in Victorian slaughterhouses.
Media release: Wednesday 26 Apr 2023
Australian Food Group slaughterhouse in Laverton has shut down rather than installing CCTV mandated by government regulator PrimeSafe, according to a report by ABC. The slaughterhouse was last month at the centre of a national exposé into the use of gas chambers in pig slaughterhouses, after animal advocate Chris Delforce spent almost 10 hours inside the chamber filming the agonising deaths of pigs inside. Delforce says that AFG's choice to stop operating rather than install CCTV inside their chamber is "typical" of an industry unwilling to take accountability, however it represents a "massive win for pigs." One of Victoria's three largest...
Media release: Thursday 13 Apr 2023
30 protestors have stopped operations at Benalla slaughterhouse in Northern Victoria, chaining themselves onto the gas chamber used to paralyse pigs for slaughter.
Media release: Monday 27 Mar 2023
Prominent animal advocate Chris Delforce hid inside one of the pork industry’s “humane” carbon dioxide gas chambers to document the gassing of pigs. New footage captured by Farm Transparency Project inside Victoria’s three largest slaughterhouses, revealed exclusively on ABC’s 7.30 program last night, shows thousands of pigs screaming and thrashing in agony as they are lowered into the gas. This investigation comes 9 years after Delforce first used hidden cameras to expose the use of gas chambers for pigs; the first time in the world that the widespread practice had been captured on camera. He says it “has only...
Monday 27 Mar 2023 by
New hidden camera footage has revealed the way pigs are killed for their meat in Australia may be much less humane than previously thought.
Tuesday 28 Mar 2023 by
The Australian pig industry has defended its use of carbon dioxide gas to stun pre-slaughter after damning footage aired on television.
Tuesday 28 Mar 2023 by
On March 27th footage was aired on ABC’s 7:30, which showed in graphic detail the process of stunning inflicted on pigs farmed for their flesh. Modified atmospheric stunning (MAS) utilises…
Tuesday 28 Mar 2023 by
Warning - confronting video. Activist Chris Delforce filmed pigs being gassed before slaughter inside an Australian abattoir. Source: Farm Transparency Project
Tuesday 28 Mar 2023 by
The peak body for Australian pork farmers will review confronting footage which appears to show pigs squealing inside abattoirs before being killed.
Tuesday 28 Mar 2023 by
There are calls for greater scrutiny of the pork industry after the ABC's 7.30 program airs video of pigs being stunned by carbon dioxide before slaughter.
Thursday 30 Mar 2023 by
Australia’s two supermarket giants source pork from Victorian abattoirs depicted in “horrific” footage recording the effects of carbon dioxide gassing on pigs prior to slaughter.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Seven protesters have been charged after allegedly chaining themselves to machinery as part of an animal rights protest in the state’s northeast, while the Premier has said he wasn’t aware of any breaches of standards at the facility.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
UPDATE: A protest at the Benalla abattoir has concluded with multiple people charged with trespassing and other offences.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Police officers and other emergency service workers are at an abattoir after activists locked themselves inside.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Police officers and other emergency service workers are at an abattoir after activists locked themselves inside. Photographs released by the protest group on Thursday morning show people sitting inside machinery at the Firth Road meatworks, in Benalla, Victoria.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Seven animal activists have been charged with trespassing after they allegedly broke into an abattoir in Benalla and chained themselves to machinery.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
A protest that’s halted operations at an abattoir in Victoria’s north has stretched into its 10th hour. About 30 animal activists broke in to Benalla Abattoir, with some chaining themselves to the gas chamber which is used to paralyse pigs.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Up to 30 members of protest group Farm Transparency Project halted work at the Benalla abattoir after infiltrating the facility early on Thursday, April 13.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Seven vegan activists have been arrested following a graphic stunt at a Victorian abattoir, where they chained themselves to metal railings.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Farmers have backed a move by protesters to stop stunning pigs in gas chambers prior to slaughter. About 30 animal activists broke into Benalla Abbatoir and some chained themselves to the gas chamber which is used to paralyse pigs.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Victoria Police have allegedly responded to an animal rights protest at a Benalla abattoir.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Up to 30 members of protest group Farm Transparency Project halted work at the Benalla abattoir after infiltrating the facility early on Thursday, April 13.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Seven people have been charged after about 30 protesters chained themselves to equipment inside Benalla Abattoirs in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Dozens of vegan activists have chained themselves to an abattoir while describing the facility as a “gas chamber”.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Dozens of vegan activists have chained themselves to an abattoir while describing the facility as a “gas chamber”.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Seven people have been arrested after animal rights activists blockaded a Victorian abattoir to protest the use of...
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Seven people have been arrested after animal rights activists blockaded a Victorian abattoir to protest the use of carbon dioxide to stun pigs before slaughter.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Prime-time TV news coverage of Farm Transparency Project's shut-down and protest at the Benalla slaughterhouse in northern Victoria, on 13 April 2023.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Prime-time TV news coverage of Farm Transparency Project's shut-down and protest at the Benalla slaughterhouse in northern Victoria, on 13 April 2023.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Prime-time TV news coverage of Farm Transparency Project's shut-down and protest at the Benalla slaughterhouse in northern Victoria, on 13 April 2023.
Thursday 13 Apr 2023 by
Prime-time TV news coverage of Farm Transparency Project's shut-down and protest at the Benalla slaughterhouse in northern Victoria, on 13 April 2023.
Friday 14 Apr 2023 by
Protesters have been charged after allegedly chaining themselves to machinery and hiding in a “gas chamber”, as industry calls for the full force of law to come down.
Friday 14 Apr 2023 by
SEVEN people have been arrested and charged following a break-in to protest gas stunning of pigs at a Benalla abattoir yesterday.
Saturday 15 Apr 2023 by
Animal activists from Farm Transparency Project (FTP) have occupied machines used to gas pigs at a slaughterhouse in Northern Victoria, Australia.
Monday 17 Apr 2023 by
Seven protesters who chained themselves to equipment at the Benalla abattoirs on Thursday morning will face court at a later date, after they were arrested on trespass offences.
Wednesday 26 Apr 2023 by
Warning: This story contains content that may distress some readers. A pig abattoir has ceased operations amid a formal investigation into "serious and disturbing allegations" of mistreatment of animals, including one pig having its testicles torn off by machinery.
Wednesday 3 May 2023 by
Gas stunning of pigs causes panic and pain for an average 22 seconds, but alternatives such as electrocution and captive-bolts are just as problematic.
Wednesday 3 May 2023 by
Diamond Valley Pork, which processes 13,500 pigs a week, is under investigation by federal authorities over animal welfare claims.
Sunday 8 Oct 2023 by
A push to allow the publication of “horrific” footage of mistreatment of animals, including that of pigs being stun-gassed across slaughterhouses, is afoot in NSW.
Wednesday 25 Oct 2023 by
Police are not investigating incident as no complaint made.
Tuesday 31 Oct 2023 by
PrimeSafe has charged the Australian Food Group over its handling of pigs, following a Farm Transparency Project investigation.
Tuesday 5 Dec 2023 by
Animals Australia has launched legal action to stop pre-slaughter gassing of pigs, while politicians ram through a pig welfare inquiry.
Monday 11 Dec 2023 by
Animals Australia wants the Supreme Court to rule against gas stunning of pigs, which growers warn would push up pork prices.
Friday 1 Mar 2024 by
The court case against an abattoir in Melbourne’s southwest has concluded after animal activist footage led to charges arising from its handling of pigs.
Monday 4 Mar 2024 by
The owner of a Victorian piggery has accepted responsibility for the breaches after an investigation was sparked by video of slaughter practices inside its facilities.
Monday 4 Mar 2024 by
Victorian abattoir Australian Food Group commits to diversion program following exposure of pig slaughter methods by activists.
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
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”.
Sunday 20 Oct 2024 by
The widespread use of “gas chambers” to render pigs unconscious before their slaughter is under a cloud.
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