At Australian Pork Limited's Annual General Meeting in October, 2025, Farm Transparency Project presented inaugural awards for Outstanding Cruelty to Pigs. While we know that every pig farmer/slaughterer in Australia works tirelessly in this space, our judges had to narrow the field to just four - not an easy task! Congratulations to the well-deserved winners.
In fourth place: Midland Bacon in Carag Carag, Victoria! For obvious reasons (#FreeOlivia), but also for defiantly maintaining their enormous sow stall shed while APL’s pretending they don’t exist anymore, and for the routine killing of piglets by slamming their heads onto the concrete floor right in front of our hidden cameras.
In third place: David Wright's EcoPiggery in Leitchville, Victoria! Judges were particularly impressed by David's ability to blatantly lie to a parliamentary inquiry about his ongoing use of sow stalls - and in an industry known for lying to government and the public, he's done well to stand out. The judges were also impressed by the general dilapidation and filth of his piggery, and his co-ownership of the notoriously cruel Benalla slaughterhouse.
In second place: Van Der Drift & Sons piggery in Macorna, Victoria! This giant piggery was found to be infested with cockroaches and flies, with piglets suffering from mange while another was found with their leg trapped between the metal bars of a farrowing crate floor. The dead sows found dumped outside were, impressively, just the tip of the iceberg, with paperwork indicating that a sow died almost every day last year.
And the big winner, first place for Outstanding Cruelty to Pigs: Andgar Piggery in Dublin, South Australia! The judges were overwhelmed by Andgar’s dedication to being as truly awful as possible. Pigs drowning in their own waste; a pile of rotting corpses dumped in a pen inside one of the sheds, with live pigs stuck amongst them; large necrotic wounds; the list goes on. But Andgar wanted to be certain, to really make sure they clinched this award, and so last month, two sheds caught fire and around 350 pigs burned to death.
To the pig farmers/slaughterers who missed out this time, please don't be discouraged - if you all keep up the callous disregard or outright disdain for the well-being of the animals you profit from, you'll absolutely have a chance next year!
