Owner Speaks Out

Farm owners vow to fire workers who abused pigs
By AMY LORENTZEN

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The operators of a farm where workers were secretly videotaped abusing pigs said Thursday they were launching an investigation and those responsible would be fired.

MowMar LLP of Fairmont, Minn., said in a statement that it is "surprised and outraged" by the actions captured this summer in undercover video by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. MowMar purchased the Greene County, Iowa, farm last month from an Iowa company.

"As a family-owned farm operation with over 30 years in the swine business, MowMar farms does not and will not tolerate the mistreatment of any animals under our husbandry and we take these PETA allegations very seriously," the company said.

"This isn't about one farm, of course — it's about a culture of cruelty that exists everyplace we go undercover on a factory farm or slaughterhouse," said PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich. He added that the group's many investigations show that "eating factory farmed meat supports cruelty to animals." Read More

The allegations that some sort of “culture of cruelty” exists in agriculture is ridiculous. No one in agriculture has ever tried to defend this type of criminal behavior and to suggest that everyone in our industry abuses animals is childish stereotyping. Such blanket statements like that aimed at other segments of our society would not be tolerated. Animal agriculture depends on the animals to be healthy and productive in order to stay in business. Abuse like that seen on the video would not allow for that.