Tesco and Asda suspend supplies from pig farm over ‘cruelty’

The brands said they have stopped doing business with Somerby Top Farm in Lincolnshire, which is run by British meat producer Cranswick.

This comes after a report from the Mail on Sunday claimed that staff members at the farm would  “hit pigs with boards, paddles and their fists, deliberately targeting areas such as their snout and eyes”.

It also alleged that welfare checks would ignore “visible injuries and suffering, with one inspection of 1,000 pigs lasting just 90 seconds”, as well as “multiple botched killings of lame piglets”.

Tesco and Asda suspend supplies from British pig farm over reports of animal cruelty

The covert filming at the farm took place over a period of 10 months and was carried out by the animal rights group Animal Justice Project.

It was reported that some of the “most severe abuse” was inflicted on animals two weeks after the farm was audited by the food assurance scheme Red Tractor.

However, Red Tractor has said Somerby Top Farm’s certification has now been suspended with immediate effect following the “deeply distressing” footage.

It added that it has now referred the case to the UK Government’s animal welfare regulator, the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We take animal welfare extremely seriously and expect all our suppliers to adhere to our high welfare standards.

“We were shocked by this footage, and we have immediately suspended the farm in question.

“Our specialist agriculture team is working with the supplier to carry out a full investigation.”

Asda said it had “immediately suspended supply” from the farm after the supermarket was made aware of the claims.

In a statement, Red Tractor said: “This footage is deeply distressing. Red Tractor is taking this clear breach of animal welfare standards extremely seriously.

“The farm’s Red Tractor certification has been suspended with immediate effect, and a full investigation is underway.

“Red Tractor is conducting a thorough review of both current and historical footage, compliance and staffing on the farm. The farm will remain unassured if Red Tractor is not satisfied our standards are met.

“It’s important to note that this footage was taken between May 2024 and January 2025, with evidence and allegations only being presented to Red Tractor in August 2025.

“This delay is concerning and suggests that these activists have prioritised ideology over protecting animal welfare.

“Red Tractor provides a free anonymous whistle-blowing service and we actively encourage anyone with concerns to raise these so that we can investigate immediately.”

A spokesperson for Cranswick said: “The health and welfare of our pigs is our highest priority, and we were horrified to see this unacceptable historic footage, filmed at Somerby Top farm.

“As with the North Moor Farm footage, released in May 2025, the content was recorded several months ago but has only very recently been shared with us.

“We find the treatment of the pigs in the footage distressing to watch, and we apologise unreservedly for this lapse in our standards. It does not in any way reflect the operating practices at our farms today.

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“Since May, we have been implementing major changes across all of our farming businesses to address the challenges raised within the footage.

“We have changed the management team at these farms, and staff shown in the footage no longer work for the business. We have recruited five new full-time welfare officers.

“All of our farm colleagues have been retrained in livestock handling, with a strong focus on animal health and welfare. We are currently installing AI-enabled CCTV at all of our indoor farms to enable us to monitor the health of our pigs and the behaviour of our colleagues, in real time, to ensure our exacting standards are consistently met.”