Norfolk Chicken and Pig Megafarm Plans Rejected!
Following a PETA petition – signed by over 40,000 concerned residents and members of the public – the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk has rejected plans for the development of two intensive mega-farms in Norfolk. The cruel proposal also recieved 15,000 objections on the council’s website. Thank you to everyone who spoke out against these plans, including PETA supporters, animal allies, and the grassroots organisation Cranswick Objection Group. The compassionate decision will spare around 48,000 pigs and 6.7 million birds a year from misery and terrifying death.
See the Individuals
Pigs are highly intelligent animals who would naturally live with their families. They love getting belly rubs and playing football and can recognise their own names. Some have even saved human lives.
Did you know that chickens enjoy sunbathing and can distinguish between more than 100 other chickens’ faces?
Pigs and chickens feel pain and distress, just like dogs, cats, and humans. On farms, they are denied the chance to do anything natural, such as roaming, foraging, and caring for their babies.
Pigs and Chickens on Factory Farms
The stress and frustration of extreme confinement – where they are denied the mental and physical stimulation that they need – can drive pigs to engage in aggressive behaviour such as tail-biting. As a result, farmers routinely cut off pigs’ tails and clip or grind down their sensitive teeth, often without painkillers. Despite being naturally clean animals, they’ll be forced to stand in their own waste inside filthy sheds.
Essere AnimaliIn 2022, the farm in question – Feltwell Farm, which Wayland Farms owns – was suspended from the “RSPCA Assured” scheme after drone footage captured the moment that 10 to 15 pigs were herded into makeshift pens and cruelly shot. The Ecotricity footage shows the pigs writhing and convulsing on the ground. These animals are not treated like living, feeling beings with needs and desires – they are merely seen as commodities to exploit.
Frankenstein-esque genetic modification meant to maximise profits means chickens on intensive farms grow extremely quickly and become unnaturally large with huge, heavy upper bodies. Consequently, they suffer from severe health problems, including heart failure and difficulty breathing in the hot, acrid environment. Their young legs cannot support such an unnaturally large body, making many chickens unable to move within a few weeks. Unable to reach food or right themselves after falling on their backs, many starve.
Disease runs rampant in these filthy, cramped sheds, and many animals die. Some are left to rot among the living.
Cruel Death
The pigs on the farm would have reached “finished weight” when they were just 24 weeks old – at which point they’d be packed onto a lorry and sent to the abattoir. At the end of a terrifying journey, pigs are typically stunned with electric tongs or suffocated with carbon dioxide in a gas chamber before their throats are slit and they’re left to bleed out.
The chickens would have been collected at just 38 to 42 days old and sent to the abattoir. Many sustain broken bones from rough handling and are left to suffer on the lorries. The journey is often so horrific and arduous for the exhausted animals that over a million chickens die in transit each year. Those who survive the journey will either be gassed or face a throat-cutting machine before being plunged into scalding water.
Cranswick, the Applicant
Cranswick plc, a UK food producer, owns the companies behind the monstrous plans – Crown Chicken Ltd and Wayland Farms Ltd. The food giant has previously sparked controversy in the media with cases of cruelty to animals and environmental destruction.
In addition to murdering millions of animals, Cranswick caused an environmental disaster and was fined £75,000 after it released polluted liquid into a Norfolk brook. Mega-farms – like those proposed – emit massive amounts of pollutants into waterways, soil, and the air every year.
What You Can Do
The best thing to do for animals trapped on factory farms is to stop eating them. Join PETA’s 30-day vegan pledge or download a free vegan starter kit:
If you’re already vegan and want to help oppose future farm proposals, ensure you subscribe to PETA’s mailing list:
