GRESSINGHAM FOODS' DUCK CATCHERS SHOW INGRAINED VIOLENCE DURING CATCHING FOR SLAUGHTER
Following undercover investigations inside #Gressingham Foods' farms and abattoir in 2019 and 2020, #AnimalJusticeProject has returned to expose the sadistic process that #ducks face as they are rounded up and crated for #slaughter. As featured in the #Independent.
This is The Foul Truth about the #UK 's commercial duck 'meat' farms.
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As consumers tuck into their crispy duck pancakes or roast duck dinners, the #violence behind their food choices is being hidden away in huge concrete sheds, only ever coming to light when #investigations expose the nightmarish reality. Sold in the 'Big 6' #supermarkets β #Asda, #Co-op, #Waitrose, #Morrisons, #Sainsburys and #Tesco β you will never see the truth on their packaged bodies.
At this #GressinghamFoods farm in #WestYorkshire, we witnessed numerous sick
2/16
and #injured ducks and the #dead left to rot amongst the living. Our cameras caught the sadistic process of catching the ducks for slaughter; birds were grabbed by their necks and #strangled, thrown around to scare others, kicked, crushed below a worker's boots and much worse.
A DUCK OUT OF WATER
The vast sheds imprisoned 10,000 #birds, yet there was not a single source of open #water. To these semi-aquatic birds, water is vital for their #health and well-being and
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enables them to display their #NaturalBehaviours. It is in direct contradiction with the #AnimalWelfareAct 2006 to not allow animals to carry out these behaviours, and a tragically #cruel thing to do.
#Gressingham, a so-called "local boys and a family business", is #industrial in size. Each duck becomes a mere statistic in this gross #exploitative system and not an individual who has needs. We witnessed eye and nasal infections, blindness, severe lameness, twisted feet and bent necks.
4/16
Most of these painful ailments can be directly reflected by the lack of #OpenWater, leaving the #ducks unable to bathe and wash their eyes and nasal passages efficiently.
In just 42 days, 920 ducks #died or were #killed inside a single shed. That's almost 10% of the #flock.
TRAPPED ON THEIR BACKS
Commercial duck breeds like the 'Gressingham duck' are bred to fatten so quickly that their bodies struggle to keep up; they are the 'broiler' equivalent of chickens.
5/16
They grow #unnaturally wide, so when their legs fail, or they are knocked over by the crowds of panicked ducks, they become trapped on their backs and cannot right themselves.
We filmed one #duck #trapped on their back for 20 hours, struggling to right themselves, becoming increasingly desperate. It was only after almost a whole day when a worker booted them back over when they could struggle away, collapsing again, clearly in #shock.
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"Numerous #distressing instances included the forceful closure of crate doors on ducks' heads, wings, and limbs, as well as ducks being swung by their necks and suspended for extended periods. Some exhibited severe lameness indicative of #fractures, struggling to right themselves. #Injured ducks were callously thrown aside during handling, and on-site #killing methods were unreliable, leading to prolonged #suffering."
- Andrew Knight, Veterinary Professor of #AnimalWelfare
7/16
CORRALLED, STRANGLED AND CRUSHED
Specialist catching team #Keyo, a company that prides itself on being the 'largest poultry handling firm in the UK,' was brought in to carry out the nightmarish process of #depopulation. Keyo is both #RedTractor and #RSPCA Assured. What we filmed was nothing short of a #terror show.
As the time came to #RoundUp the #ducks for slaughter, widespread #panic set in amongst the #flock.
8/16
Workers grabbed ducks by their necks and swung them around to scare the other #birds into moving forward into the loading area. It was #horrifying to witness #sentient, vulnerable individuals being #strangled for almost a minute as they flapped and kicked around in an attempt to free themselves. Workers subsequently hurled the panicked ducks to the floor.
Catchers aggressively caught several ducks by their necks in each hand before #slamming them into plastic crates
9/16
as they loaded them for #slaughter. Wings, heads and legs became #trapped as crates were filled with terror-stricken birds who urgently tried to escape. One duck became trapped under other birds and, subsequently, a worker's boot. They tried their best to escape but became weaker and weaker in the commotion. After the #painful ordeal, the duck was tossed to one side as they #collapsed on the ground. They were left to slowly #die in agony.
10/16
The entire catching process reflected no regard for the ducks' well-being and only focused on #efficiency and getting the job done.
NECKS SNAPPED
After many hours of #torment, any #birds who were injured during the catching process, or those who were sick, were tossed to one side until the #depopulation had finished. A worker was caught on camera grabbing birds by their necks and spinning the ducks around to callously break their #necks.
11/16
As the vicious #attack ended, the ducks were thrown to the ground, flapping and writhing in pain for as long as three minutes. The now emptied shed became littered with the bodies of those ducks who meant nothing to #Gressingham now that they could not provide any #FinancialGain.
The 9,000 #birds who were shoved into crates then endured an arduous 180-mile journey to Gressingham's #slaughterhouse in #Suffolk, where they would enter an #ElectrifiedWaterBath β
12/16
their first ever contact with an open water source β before having their throats slit as a method of 'humane' #slaughter.
When #AnimalJusticeProject began investigating the duck industry in 2019, 15 million ducks were slaughtered annually. Today, 9 million ducks are killed in the UK. #DuckFarming is #declining, and we must only stop campaigning once we see this industry ceasing to exist.
This is the cold-hearted reality of the commercial duck 'meat' industry.
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#Profits and efficiency prevailed over the care or well-being of the #vulnerable, young #birds. As #consumers, we must stop buying these 'products' of #abuse off #supermarket shelves and instead opt for plant-based foods, which offer everyone a just and respectful future. #GoVegan for duck's sake!
You can sign our petition today to ask the 'Big 6' #supermarkets to stop selling the abused bodies of #Gressingham 's ducks
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and send our open letter to Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to ask him to #BanDuckFarming, which innately contradicts the #AnimalWelfareAct 2006.
Yours sincerely,
Ayrton Cooper
Campaigns Manager
#AnimalJusticeProject
https://www.animaljusticeproject.com/tft-bigsix?mc_cid=45209cba85&mc_eid=ea4ecc8399
15/16
SIGN ON TO OUR OPEN LETTER
#Ducks need your help today! Join celebrities, veterinarians, ethologists, NGOs and animal sanctuaries by signing on to our Open Letter calling for a complete #ban on #UKDuckFarming.
Your signature will send an email to Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for #Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Mark Spencer, Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, demanding that a ban is implemented immediately.
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https://www.animaljusticeproject.com/tft-openletter?mc_cid=45209cba85&mc_eid=ea4ecc8399
Well done.
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